One, Two, Three
by Wondders
Summary: After a long night of heavy drinking Hermione Granger wakes up married. Who are her husbands and just how far will they go to keep her safe?
1. Chapter I

**A/N: **I own nothing. Please review! I love hearing from y'all and I would love some input about this fic!

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Hermione woke with a groan as sunlight peaked through the open blinds of the window. She slowly opened her eyes to realize that she was not in her own bed but rather in her room at the inn and very much naked. She moved to cover up and quickly realized that she had a monster hangover and an awfully large amount of soreness. She knew that she had been drinking entirely too much last night but who could blame her! They had won the war and they were returning to Hogwarts to finish up school. Even though she felt that she couldn't blame herself she did. She had gotten drunk and lost her virginity to a man she probably didn't know and then said man left her naked and alone in her hotel room. She groaned again and slowly stood up. She was grateful that she had every intention of staying at the Three Broomsticks and that she had her overnight bag. Many Hogwarts students had chosen to stay in Hogsmeade until the start of school on Monday. With all of the sixth and seventh year students at Hogsmeade it was no surprise that the party of the century had happened. Alcohol was flowing and no one cared that some of the students weren't of drinking age. That's what happens in a war though, lines get blurred and people grown up very fast. Hermione groaned again as a wave of nausea hit her. She closed her eyes and sucked in some deep breaths. Then, she continued to get ready for the day. She and Ginny were supposed to go shopping and eat lunch together, just the two of them. She showered and got dressed as quickly as she could. As she was brushing her hair out she noticed three rings on her left ring finger. All of them were beautiful, diamonds set in platinum. She stood there with a questioning look on her face. She tried to take them off but they wouldn't budge. As she was struggling to get the rings off she noticed a mark on her wrist. She had gotten a tattoo, three circles woven together. She paled afraid of the meanings of her new adornments. She resolved to ask Ginny if she had any recollection of the previous night. She finished brushing her hair before she left to meet Ginny in her room.

Ginny opened the door with a smile and a warm hug. "I was wondering when you were going to get here." She told the older girl as she released her from the hug. "I'm surprised that you're alive after last night. You got totally sloshed. It was bloody hilarious!" she exclaimed giving Hermione a grin.

"I don't think that it was that funny. I also didn't think that I had that much to drink." Hermione said softly.

"Oh, but you did have an awfully large amount to drink. Fred and George dared you to go shot to shot with them and you agreed. You had more to drink that anyone at that party. People seemed very impressed with your ability to hold your alcohol." Ginny said with a smirk. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Hermione responded, "but first I need to ask you something." She said tentatively.

"Okay," Ginny said her eyebrows furrowed.

"Did I go home with anyone last night?" Hermione said quickly closing her eyes and fearing the worst.

"Not that I saw, why? Is everything okay?" She asked concern lacing her voice.

"It's just…this." Hermione finished quickly showing Ginny her left hand and wrist. "I don't very well know what happened and I'm honestly kind of worried" She told the younger girl who had grabbed her hand and was examining the rings and tattoo in turn.

"Hermione, what did you do last night!?"

"Clearly I don't know! Do you know what these are?"

"They're wedding bands," Ginny said, "and a tattoo to signify the bond. It's normal in Wizarding society to have two bands, one representing you and the other your spouse, but it isn't common to have three. It could only mean one thing…you married two people last night."

"WHAT!" Hermione screamed yanking her hand away from the younger girl. "I couldn't have married two people, I'm not even dating anyone! Is it even legal to do that?"

"Of course it is," Ginny said with a sigh, "It's an old law that allows you to marry two people as long as all parties are consenting."

Hermione felt like she couldn't breathe. "Are you sure?" She asked her voice wavering.

"I'm sure," Ginny said grimly. "but I'm also sure that your husbands…or husband and wife…are rich. These rings didn't come cheap and finding someone to do the binding spell and tattoos on short notice would be a distinct challenge. Do you remember anything?"

"The last thing that I remember is Fred ordering another round of Oden's Old and Harry telling me to slow down. After that it's mostly blank." Hermione responded with a grim tone of voice. "Let's just get on with shopping, maybe it'll get my mind off of this marriage thing. There has to be a way out of this." She said rooting through her bag to make sure she had everything she needed.

"Hermione, the only way out of a spell like this is through death. There's no other way." Ginny told her friend.

"I'll have to do some research when we get back to Hogwarts then." Hermione said determinedly. "I have to stop by my room really fast, I left my wallet. I guess it feel out of my bag when I got home last night. Tell me all about what happened with you and Harry last night!"

At that the girls slowly made their way back to Hermione's room and Ginny told her all about her new relationship with Harry.

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"Where is she?!" Blaise asked with indignation as he searched all over the small room at the inn that Hermione had rented.

"I don't think that she hid under the bed, love." Draco responded coolly as his lover and best friend got on his hands and knees to search. "She's probably hanging out with those friends of hers."

"But…but we're married now." Blaise said with a huff. "She should be with us. And we were even considerate enough to bring her breakfast!"

"Blaise," Draco said thoughtfully, "what are we going to do if she doesn't remember what happened last night? She was very drunk and it's possible that she won't want this when she's sober."

"She's our third. She's the missing piece. Now that we've had her we can't go back. You and I both know that." Blaise said trying to hide the worry in his voice.

"Listen, if she denies us," Draco said as he stood and tenderly grasped Blaise's face between his hands, "we'll get through it. Just like we've gotten through this war. Just like we've gotten through telling our parents and friends about us. We'll get through it together." He slowly brought his lips to Blaise's in a tender kiss.

"She can't back out now. It's not possible. The spell we did is binding and the only way out is through death." Blaise said after Draco had released him from his kiss.

"We'll get through it." Draco said looking into the indigo eyes of his lover. Blaise had always been a good looking bloke. Tall with lean muscles and a beautiful smile, when he chose to smile that is, dark olive skin and jet black hair. He was a sight to behold. It had been awkward when they first got together. Neither one of them identified as a gay man but they just fit together so perfectly. It helped that both of them are wicked attractive. Draco is just as tall as Blaise at six-foot-three-inches tall and just as well muscled albeit a bit broader in the shoulders. Draco held his lover close in his arms trying to show the other man how much he loved him. He could feel Blaise relax a little and smiled.

Blaise sighed and said, "I'm not so sure this time, Draco, I'm not so sure we could deal with her rejection."

"If it comes to that we will deal with it." Draco said kissing Blaise again. He quickly pulled away when he heard the distinctive sound of a key entering a lock. He looked at the door and let go of his hold on Blaise letting his hand find Blaise's as they intertwined their fingers. "I guess she's back." He said with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I guess she is." Blaise responded giving Draco's hand a squeeze. "It'll be fine" he said nodding his head and trying to sound convincing.

They braced themselves for what was going to be coming through the door.

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"I'll just be a second, Gin" Hermione said as she slid the lock into the door to her room at the inn.

"Hermione, someone is in there." Ginny said drawing her wand and pointing at the door and then to her ear to tell Hermione to listen.

Hermione didn't hear anything coming through the door but drew her wand just to be safe. She didn't fight in a war just to be killed during a burglary. She held up her fingers and counted to three before swinging the door open with her wand at the ready and Ginny following closely behind her.

"Now, now, sweetie, is that any way to greet your husbands?" Draco asked sarcastically after a few seconds of Hermione and Ginny staring them down clearly ready to attack.

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**A/N:** Remember to review!


	2. Chapter II

A/N: This is chapter 2! I still don't own anything, I suppose I'll let you know if that changes. I've been loving all the reviews! It really motivates me to write (hint, hint, nudge, nudge) and I love to see your opinions on the story so far. I'm starting Uni again soon so I probably won't update too terribly fast. I do have a queue of a few chapters so I'll try not to leave y'all in a lurch!

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"Draco, that's no way to greet our wife!" Blaise said gently scolding Draco. "We brought you coffee," he said turning his attention to Hermione. "Now, why don't you just lower your wand? Maybe then we can sit down and talk?"

"I don't like coffee." Hermione said bluntly giving no indication that she wanted to lower her wand. "I much prefer tea."

"Who doesn't?" Blaise said with a gentle chuckle and smile. "We figured after last night you would need a strong cup of coffee. We also brought you an English muffin with butter and jam." He said pointing to the bag and coffee mug that sat on the bedside table. "Now can you lower your wand? Ginny, maybe you could too? The two of you are quite intimidating."

Hermione quickly looked back at her friend to see that she had complied with the wizard's request and lowered her wand. "This could still be a dangerous situation." She said quickly in a hushed tone.

"If they wanted to hurt us they already would have." Ginny responded with a sigh. "And it looks as though they have the same rings as you do. And they have the same tattoos." She gestured to Blaise's still outstretched arm.

Hermione still stood tense with her wand raised. "What happened last night?" she asked the pair harshly.

"Well, you got sloshed and we got sloshed and then we got married and…well…did what married people do." Draco said, "Now, could you please lower your wand? It's kind of scary being on this end of it, if I'm being honest. It would certainly make me more comfortable if you didn't have it raised and pointing at us."

"Does it look like I care about your comfort, Malfoy?"

"Not particularly." Draco said shaking his head before drawing in a deep breath. "Maybe Blaise and I should see ourselves out."

"No," Ginny said before Hermione could respond, "you should stay! Clearly you all have some things to discuss. I'll just be getting out of your way now. We can go shopping some other day, okay?" she asked turning her attention to Hermione.

"Ginny, I would prefer if you were to stay." Hermione said conjuring four chairs and then lowering her wand but not taking her eyes off of Draco and Blaise. "Sit," she said gesturing to the chairs, "and tell me what exactly happened last night. How on Earth did we get married?"

"A lot happened last night, Hermione. Some of which your friend probably shouldn't hear about." Blaise said gently as he took the seat closest to where he was standing.

"It's fine." Hermione said briskly. "I want her here. If you're too embarrassed by something, or you think that I'll be embarrassed, then don't say it." She finished as they all sat down in their chairs.

"Okay, well…where do you want us to start?" Draco asked.

"The beginning would be lovely." Hermione said not caring about how bitchy she sounded.

Draco chuckled and said, "Blaise and I are here to celebrate the end of the war just like everyone else. Most of our peers are here and it's been nice to have a bit of a getaway."

"I convinced him to go to the party last night." Blaise said looking at Hermione. "When we arrived we got caught up in the celebration and the fun. Then we saw you." A small smile played at his lips. "I'll start the story at the beginning, just as requested. We've been together since the beginning of sixth year but both of us felt that something was missing. We knew that we needed a third."

"What do you mean?" Hermione said interrupting Blaise.

"You know how people say that they found their missing half? When Blaise and I got together we felt that we were still only partially complete. We had found each other but there was still something that was…missing."

"A missing third." Blaise said gently, "I didn't believe him when he presented the idea so I went to the library and did some research. I found that three people in a relationship isn't common but it's also not unheard of. It usually happens with extraordinarily powerful witches and wizards. A witch and wizard who are perfectly compatible will not only complement each other's personalities but also their magic. Each of us has a certain type of magic and each is different, just like a fingerprint. Draco complements almost all of my magic and I his but we aren't exclusively complementary."

"When Blaise found all of this out he came to find me and we headed back to the library so I could see for myself. It was after hours and we weren't expecting for anyone to be there but you were." He said looking pointedly at Hermione. "It was the first time that all three of us were in the room at the same time with no one else around. A sudden feeling came over me; a kind of peace that I had never felt. As you know, my sixth year wasn't exactly peaceful so it came as a shock to me. I looked at Blaise and I could tell that he felt it too. He grabbed my hand and suggested that we go and look for who was in the library. After looking high and low we found you. You had fallen asleep in a back corner surrounded by piles of books." Draco said with a smile and light chuckle.

"I then told him that _you_ are our third. He agreed but didn't know how that could be. He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around the concept that there is no such thing as inferior blood. It took a couple of months and then, when he had finally gotten rid of those bloody Pureblood ideals, he agreed that you are it, our third." Blaise sighed deeply, "They all hell broke loose. Draco had to follow his orders or his family would be killed and then the war started. All of a sudden I had two people who I love fighting against each other in a war. Little did I know that Draco was taking after Snape and was spying to help the Light side win."

"I've always been devious, love." Draco said smirking. "So, when we finally saw you again, after all of the fighting was over and the war won, we couldn't help but approach you. You were already smashed, Hermione. And you had Fred and George sitting on either side of you both sleeping on the table. "

"That made me very jealous, in case you were wondering." Blaise cut in, "We just started talking to you. You were so happy to see us and you kept on touching our arms and giggling. At first we thought that maybe it was just because you were sloshed. Then you excused yourself to go talk to Neville and we saw how you interacted with other men in the room. You weren't grabbing at them or laughing at all. You seemed to be uninterested in anyone but us. Then you sought us out and started to ask questions about our relationship, our families, our lives. We spent the better part of three hours simply talking to you. You and Draco went back and forth in a witty banter, you asked me questions about everything under the sun. It was more than comfortable because there was an undercurrent of love just pouring out of you. We made it rather clear that we had that same feeling."

"When Potter came over to ask if you were okay you gladly proclaimed that you were and that you found your other 'halves'." Draco said smiling at Hermione.

"So that's why Harry went over there!" Ginny proclaimed smiling, "I was worried about you 'Mione. You were acting…well, differently. You hadn't treated anyone in the way you were treating the two of them. When I said something to Harry about it he went over to ask you if everything was alright. I didn't think anything of it at the time but it certainly makes sense. It's only logically that a witch as powerful as you would have two magicmates, as my mother calls them."

"Magicmates?" Draco asked with his eyebrow quirked looking at Ginny for the first time since they sat down.

"Yeah, like soulmates in Muggle culture."

"So, it's someone who completes your magic like your soulmate completes your soul?" Hermione asked sounding perplexed.

"No, Hermione." Ginny said calmly. "It's someone who _complements_ you magic. Your magic is already complete because it if wasn't you wouldn't be able to perform spells. They make up for parts of magic that you're bad at and strengthen the parts that you are good at. For example, you're not nearly as good at potions as you are at charms."

"So, I would strengthen your potions ability and you would strengthen my charms." Draco said finishing Ginny's thought. "Good example" he said giving Ginny a nod.

"Thanks!"

"What does this marriage thing mean? I know all about Muggle customs but I've never looked at wizarding customs." Hermione asked turning towards the boys.

"Each marriage is different and because we're all married our marriage is going to be even more different. From my understanding it's very similar to Muggle marriage but it has some added…perks?" Blaise said choosing his words carefully.

"Perks?" Hermione asked.

"Perks." Draco said with a sly grin, "The Malfoy and Zabini marriage perks are different from each other and from the Wesley perks and from all the other perks for that matter." He said pausing to think. "The Malfoy and Zabini rings have been passed down for ages and you're wearing the originals. Blaise and I have copies of the ones on your finger. They all have the same magical properties though. So…let's say that you find yourself in a really bad spot and you, for some unfathomable reason, needed more magic, you could draw on mine or on Blaise's or on both and you would become more powerful. Back in the olden days it was a way for Malfoy husbands to make sure nothing happened to their wives."

"And from my family you get the ability to take your partners pain from them and you get the ability to know what's wrong with them. Right now I know that you, Hermione, have an awful lot of pain in your head, a consequence of last night?" He asked when Hermione nodded he continued, "And now your pain will ease."

"How?" Hermione gasped as she felt the pain in her head slowly disappearing but not go away fully.

"I took some of it on as my own. It's significantly more powerful to the point of being dangerous but it's rather helpful." Blaise said smiling at her.

"And I can do the same to either of you? I can tell where you're hurting and I can take some of that pain as my own? And I can draw on your magic and use it as mine?" Hermione asked stunned.

"Yes, I don't see how you could ever need more power but yes. And we can draw on your magic and use it as our own." Draco said smiling at her. "There are other things that we can do because we're married. I can feel your emotions and Blaise's too. And both of you can feel mine."

"That's horribly invasive!" Hermione said indignantly. "You can't just do that!"

"Hermione, it's rather commonplace." Ginny said to her friend. "My mom and dad can do the same thing. So can Bill and Fleur."

"And if you were being threatened with violence and couldn't defend yourself Draco and I would be drawn to your side to defend you."

"How noble." Hermione said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"That could come in handy!" Ginny said quickly.

"What about the third ring?" Hermione asked. "What special powers does it have?"

"That's the most special one of all." Blaise said, "That ring signifies that you're with us. That ring shows that you're bonded to us through magic."

"What if I don't want this?" Hermione asked her voice rising in volume as she realized just how real this marriage is. "What if I don't want to be married to the two of you? I never wanted to get married! Especially to a boy who caused me so much pain when I first came into the wizarding world and a boy I barely know!"

"Hermione," Draco said softly his voice thick with emotion and with his eyes downcast, "I am so sorry for all of the horrible things I did to you in the past. We talked about this last night...I should have known that you wouldn't remember."

"As for me…well…we have our whole lives to get to know each other."

"I can't." Hermione said turning towards Ginny. "I need some time to myself Gin. The three of you can stay and chat if you want." She finished getting up out of her chair and making for the door.

"Hermione!" Draco exclaimed as he started to rise out of his chair.

"Draco, let her go. She needs some time and we need to give it to her." Blaise said putting his hand on Draco's arm and not letting go until the other boy sat back down. "Ginny, do you want to know anything? You're her best friend and we know that you only want what's best for her. Ask us anything."

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**A/N: **Thanks again for all the reviews guys! Let me know what you think of this chapter!


	3. Chapter III

A/N: Thank you all so much for the love and the support for this story! You are all amazing. I love the reviews and I love to hear all of your input. Keep the reviews coming!

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"Any questions at all?" Ginny asked Blaise in an excited tone of voice. "Really? Anything at all?"

"Any question at all." Blaise said feeling the apprehension and worry rolling off of Draco in waves. He reached for Draco's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah, any question, Ginny." Draco said feeling comforted by the feel of Blaise's hand in his.

"Okay, first question…what are your intentions with Hermione?" Ginny asked seriously.

"Intentions? I was planning on giving her a good romp in the sheets and then leaving her out to dry." Draco said sarcastically. "The hell kind of question was that? My intention is to treat her as she is supposed to be treated; with love and kindness and adoration. My intention is to love her unconditionally especially when she doesn't feel like she deserves to be loved."

"I second that. I think that what we most want is her happiness." Blaise said looking at Ginny. "I think that we just want her to see how special she is"

"Good." Ginny said smiling at the boys sitting across from her and relaxing against the back of her chair. "Next question: have you told your families?"

"Yes," Blaise responded, "it's just my mother and I because my father died. She just wants my happiness and doesn't seem to care about what makes me happy. I owl'd her this morning to tell her about the marriage between all three of us. She's known about Draco for a while. Draco and I grew up together so they had already met it was a little weird when I told her that we were together intimately but she got over it."

"My mother was okay with it too. Father was not. He was, and probably still is, aggravated by it. He's in Azkaban now though so it doesn't really matter. I owl'd Mother about the new development at the same time Blaise owl'd his mother. I got a response back already, she's glad that I'm so happy but she doesn't really understand it."

"So, do you know what's going to happen when we get back to school?" Ginny asked choosing not to make a comment about Lucius Malfoy being in Azkaban.

"We got a letter from Dumbledore late last night. He set up one of the matrimonial towers for us."

"Matrimonial tower?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

Blaise chuckled lightly, "They were set up when the school was founded. It wasn't uncommon for students to get married before they graduated. So the towers were set up to accommodate them. It is uncommon for three to live there but he expanded the space so it's comfortable for all of us."

"What if Hermione doesn't want to tell anyone? How are you going to explain away what's going on if she doesn't want anyone to know?" Ginny asked.

"That's simple. Hermione and I are Head Girl and Head Boy. If anyone asks we'll just tell them that in order to promote interhouse unity Dumbledore thought that it would be a good idea for the Heads to live together. It may be unprecedented but I think that people will believe us." Draco explained to Ginny.

"How did Dumbledore know?" Ginny asked curiously.

"We don't know." Blaise said laughing. "We were actually wondering that ourselves. I assumed that gets owls from the Ministry if one, or more, of his students get married."

"Okay." Ginny said nodding her head in understanding. "What do you want to do when you grow up?"

"I'm planning on managing the family business. It's faltered a little with Father in Azkaban but Mother has done a great job managing it so far. I've taken on some of the responsibility recently as Father had always been grooming me to inherit his business." Draco said with a shrug, "I'm lucky because I actually enjoy the business and I'm good with keeping and maintaining relationships."

"I want to be a healer." Blaise said with a broad smile. "It runs in the family. The only one who hadn't gone into healing is Mother. Instead she relied on her good looks and marrying wealth business men. That's how my family made as much money as we have. My ancestors helped found St. Margo's and they had also helped discover many of the now commonly used remedies."

"That takes a lot of training doesn't it?" Ginny asked Blaise.

"Yes, but I think that I'm ready for all of it."

Ginny and the boys went back and forth, Ginny asked the questions and they boys answered without hesitation. They continued for a while until Ginny finally said, "Okay, last question…how are you going to make Hermione fall for you?"

Draco snorted, "Buy her expensive things like jewelry and nice clothes. Take her to nice dinners. The normal."

"I was thinking more along the lines of flowers and chocolates…"

"No and no. Listen, I like the two of you and I think that you're great blokes. From everything you told me it seems like you truly care about Hermione so I'm going to give you some hints. But I will warn you, if you break her heart I will make your lives very unpleasant." Ginny threatened clearly meaning every word of the threat. When the boys nodded their heads in understanding Ginny started to tell them all of Hermione's favorite things and explained to them how to win her over.

When Draco and Blaise left about an hour later Ginny decided to stay in Hermione's room. She knew that Hermione would be coming back and wanted to know what was going on with her best girlfriend. She sat reading one of the many books Hermione had packed as she waited for the older girl to come back. She looked up from the book when she heard the door open.

"Hey, Gin." Hermione said wearily.

"Hi, 'Mione. You were gone for a while." Ginny commented. "Is everything alright?"

"No, it's not bloody alright! I'm married to two blokes. Two! Who the hell marries two blokes at the same time! And apparently we consummated the marriage! I don't even know which one of them I lost my virginity to!" Hermione said in a harsh whisper. "And it seems as if all wizarding law points to the fact that if the marriage was consummated then it's legally binding in every sense of the word. What am I going to do!?"

"First, you're going to calm down. Then, you and I are going to go to lunch. At lunch you'll tell me about all of your concerns and after you've talked about it a while you can make a decision as to what you want to do. Sound good?"

"Lunch sounds splendid." Hermione said as her stomach growled seconding the sentiment. "Do you want to go down the street to that cute little café you wanted to try?"

"Sure," Ginny said grabbing her purse from the floor. "Do you have your wallet? I don't want to come back to find the other two blokes you married." Ginny said poking fun at her friend.

"Oh, ha ha ha, you're so funny." Hermione said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

As the girls made their way to lunch they talked about insignificant things like the weather and where Hermione went for the last three hours. "I was just at Hogwarts to do some research. You know, being Head Girl has some very nice advantages." Hermione said with a giggle.

"Oh, yeah, 24 hour access to the library is pretty spectacular." Ginny said as the hostess showed them to their table. "Find anything interesting?"

"No, I found some records of three people being married to each other but I couldn't find a way out of the marriage. If we wouldn't have…done _it_ then I could just ask for an annulment but that possibility is off the table." Hermione said with a sigh. "I'm going to have to live the rest of my life with two blokes because of one drunken mistake."

"Hermione, can I be really honest with you?" Ginny asked her friend cautiously. When Hermione nodded her consent Ginny continued, "Maybe this will be a good thing. I spent a lot of time talking to them just now and they seem to be genuinely interested in making you happy. Last night," Ginny paused debating if this was really something Hermione needed to know after a few moments she continued, "last night Harry told me something." Ginny paused again.

"What did he tell you, Gin?" Hermione asked prompting the younger girl. "You can tell me anything."

"Harry told me that without the intelligence that Draco gave us we would have lost the war. He had the 'last piece of the puzzle' as Harry put it. Without that we wouldn't have won. Harry also told me that the reason Lucius Malfoy is in Azkaban right now is because of Draco's testimony against him. I don't think that Malfoy and Zabini are bad blokes…I think that they have just had to deal with too much in their lives. You know?"

"Of course I know! I just got done fighting in a war. I've been harassed by Purebloods about their stupid fanatical ideals. I've been degraded because of my blood and one of the biggest prats to me is my now _husband_!"

"I know, Hermione. I fought alongside you, remember? You're now husband has picked on me too but I think that he's changed. Maybe you should give them a chance? It could work out for you."

"But what about Ron?" Hermione said. Yes, it's true, she had always seen herself with Ron. Harry and Ginny were supposed to get together and she and Ron were supposed to be together and then she would finally have the siblings she never had. "I always thought that Ron and I would get married."

"Hermione, as much as I want you as a sister-in-law Ron never would have made you happy." Ginny said being as gentle as she could while still being honest. "You're just so much brighter than he is. He likes to fly around on a broomstick and clear his head of any knowledge he once had while you like to cram as much information into that noggin of yours. Now you're with people who are your intellectual equals and who know the difference between _LeviOsa _and _LeviosAH_!"

"What if they don't make me happy?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Just give it a go. They could surprise you." Ginny said. And with that the girls ate their lunch and Ginny filled Hermione in on all of the information she had gathered from Draco and Blaise; then Ginny told her all about the details of her new relationship with Harry.

"Shopping?" Hermione suggested after they paid their bills and when she got tired of Ginny's incessant ramblings about Harry. Ginny readily agreed and the two girls went on their way to the Apparition point where Hermione Apparated them both to Diagon Alley.

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A/N: Review, review, review!


	4. Chapter IV

A/N: There have been some comments about another story that is similar to this one. I would like to discuss those concerns. I am very new to this fanfiction thing. I've read maybe three stories all the way through and this is the first one that I'm actually writing all the way out. With my novice-ness being pointed out I would like to say that I have not ready any stories like this one, albeit I haven't looked for any because I wanted to be inspired by my own thoughts, feelings, and life experiences. I am in no way attempting to rip off someone else's work. Some commenters have told me that there is another story out there that is similar to this one. I will admit that it is hard to come up with original ideas so I'm not surprised that there is a similar story. Honestly, there are only so many options for how Hermione and the boys to get together, there are only so many options for conflict causes, there are only so many options for villains, and there are only so many endings that can feasibly occur. With that being said, I HAVE NOT read another story like this one and I AM NOT PLAGIARIZING ANYTHING! I wanted/hoped to clear up any concerns that people may be having.

Also, thanks to the wonderful TheNewCompanion for pointing out my mistake last chapter! Silly spell-check corrected Mungo's to Margo's! I think that I fixed it on the chapter but who knows if it actually worked, I think I pressed the right buttons and everything (yay me!)!

Please remember to review! I love to see your comments and I truly value your comments. Reading your reviews really does motivate me to write more and to update quicker. I love to hear from y'all so thanks for reviewing!

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The next day everyone returned to Hogwarts for the start of a new year. There were cheerful reunions and sad reminders of the ones lost to the war. Hermione took her normal spot at the Gryffindor table between Harry and Ron and across from Ginny. The topic of conversation was about how sloshed Hermione got at the party. Ron asked if she was okay and then congratulated her on her ability to out-drink the twins. She smiled and laughed, thanking him for the compliment. She was quite worried about how her two best friends were going to react to the fact that she was going to be living with Draco Malfoy. Ginny had filled her in on what were to be her living arrangements. She protested the arrangements but in the end Ginny was right, if she was going to have a go at this marriage she needed to be near Draco and Blaise. She smiled and feigned interest as the talk around her became about Quidditch. She was thankful of Dumbledore's voice booming over the crowd saying, "Simmer down, simmer down! Let the sorting begin!"

He waited for the students to stop congratulating their new housemates before he continued, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! As we celebrate our victory in the war," he paused letting the students clap and cheer, "we must also remember the many lives lost. This year is going to be a year for us to rebuild as a school and a community. Let us not let those lives lost be in vain by continuing on the paths we were on. I urge you to stop judging your peers based on House and past history and begin to get to know each other as people not as labels. In an attempt to help us rebuild it is my distinct pleasure to introduce our newest staff members!" he exclaimed as the students clapped for them. "It is also a pleasure to introduce to you or Head Boy and Head Girl, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger!" the students roared in celebration as Hermione and Draco stood from their seats to wave at everyone. "Draco and Hermione are going to do a wonderful job. In order to show their support of each other and this community as it rebuilds they have agreed to live in a new Heads dormitory!" whispers and murmurs erupted among the students. Harry and Ron looked at Hermione with questioning eyes. "This dormitory is centrally located for easier access to the Heads for when a need arises. Now, with all that out-of-the-way let's eat!"

"Hermione, why didn't you tell us that you were going to be living with that slimy git?" Ron asked angrily.

"I'm sure he's not going to be that bad, mate. If he is he'll have us to answer to." Harry said surprisingly defending Draco.

With that Ron dropped the issue, knowing that he wouldn't win an argument against Hermione _and_ Harry. He turned his attention to talking about Quidditch and how to win the Cup this year. Hermione sighed and tuned out what the boys were saying. They never realized that she has absolutely no interest in Quidditch. She looked over at the Slytherin table wondering what her new husbands were discussing. She caught Draco's eye and saw a huge grin spread across his face. She smiled back before she dropped her gaze and returned to pretend like she was interested in Harry and Ron's conversation.

"I noticed that," Ginny said to her, "that longing look at their table."

"It wasn't longing. I was just wondering what they were talking about."

"Probably about you." Ginny said giggling. "They really do like you, Hermione. They seem to be genuinely interested."

"Who?" Harry asked curiously tearing his attention away from what Ron was saying.

"No one, Harry." Hermione breathed.

"Ginny made it sound like someone, you know, _likes_ you." Harry argued.

"It was nothing, Harry. Go back to talking about Quidditch and let the women talk." Ginny said smiling at him and putting on her best flirting face.

"Maybe the person who likes her is closer to her than she thinks?" Ron said quietly and cautiously eyeing Hermione with a small smile playing on his lips.

Blessedly, they were interrupted by Nearly Headless Nick popping up and congratulating Harry on winning the war. The conversation shifted to the war and how it was won congratulations going around the table about the skill of the fighters and the tenacity of the Gryffindor fighting spirit. They started to talk about idle things like how no one, save Hermione, was excited to start classes and how everyone was excited to start making new memories not plagued by the war. Hermione smiles, feeling comfortable with her classmates she takes a deep breath and lets it go slowly.

"We should probably head out." Hermione says slowly. One of the benefits of being a seventh year, and Head Girl, and a war hero is the ability to do what she wants. She, Harry, Ginny, and Ron were the last students in the Great Hall and had stayed, sitting and talking, long after the food had disappeared from the tables. They all stood up to leave, when they had left the Great Hall Hermione turned to the right while her friends turned to the left bidding her farewell. She sighed as she made her way to her new home. When she arrived at the portrait she quickly and quietly whispered the password and made her way inside.

"You're back awfully late." Blaise commented when he saw her walk in from his seat on the couch. He and Draco had stayed up waiting for her to come home. Blaise sat on the couch of their cozy but comfortable common room, Draco was laying with his head in Blaise's lap dozing off as Blaise idly played with his hair. Hermione noticed the kitchen off to one side as she made her way to sit in the armchair that was near the couch.

"Were you waiting up for me?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Yeah, we didn't want to go to bed without you."

Hermione paled realizing for the first time that she was expected to share a bed with them. "Oh, right."

"Draco said that you might have that reaction." Blaise said with a low chuckle. "We only have the one bed, it's rather nice actually, quite big but I understand if you're not comfortable with that. I'll just transfigure the couch in the study into a bed for Draco and me."

"The study?" Hermione asked touched that Blaise was being so considerate.

"Yeah, through that door," he said pointing to the door on the far side of the room, "is a half-bath. And then if you go upstairs there's a full bathroom, a study with three desks and hundreds of book, and our bedroom...well, your bedroom until you're comfortable enough to have it be ours."

"No," Hermione said quickly, "it's your bedroom until I feel comfortable enough. I'll sleep in the study."

"Told you so." Draco said having woken up. "I knew that you would prefer to sleep amongst books than sleep between your husbands."

"Draco," Blaise scolded, "be nice. If she isn't comfortable we have to respect that."

"Well, this has been sufficiently awkward…I'm going to go to bed." Hermione said getting up from the armchair. She walked up the stairs to discover that the bathroom was through the bedroom. She sighed as she walked into the bedroom to grab a change of clothes and a quick shower.

* * *

"Draco," Blaise sighed once Hermione had left, "that wasn't very nice of you."

"She wasn't being nice either! She came home late, she won't share a bed with us, and she's making this more uncomfortable than it needs to be."

"No she's not. She's just not used to all of this." Blaise said gently.

"She's not going to get used to it unless she tries to." Draco said firmly.

"Listen, we'll continue to work on this with her. She won't be able to resist our charms forever." Blaise said with a wolfish grin. "We just have to get to know her and she has to get to know us."

"What were we thinking, Blaise? What were we doing when we married her?"

"We were thinking about how she was telling us that she felt like she was whole with us. We were thinking about how good it feels when she's with us. We were thinking about how much we love each other and how much we love her. That's what we were thinking."

Draco sighed deeply getting up off the couch and shaking his head. "It doesn't feel right. This doesn't feel right."

"Yes it does! It feels more right than anything else."

"No, it doesn't. It doesn't feel more right than you and I." Draco shouted.

"Draco-"

"No! Don't _Draco_ me like that! This thing with Granger doesn't feel right and you _know it_!"

Blaise took a deep breath trying to curb his anger at his lover and husband saying, "I'm going to go to bed. Maybe once you've calmed down you can join me." With that he took his leave and left Draco alone with his thoughts.

Blaise walked up the stairs trying to calm down. When he entered the bedroom he heard the water of the shower running and sighed. He decided to go to the study and set it up for Hermione. He quickly transfigured the small couch into a bed and conjured an armoire. He used his magic to get and sort Hermione's clothes into the newly conjured armoire. He looked around at his handiwork and smiled broadly. He grabbed a book and sat down on the bed waiting for Hermione to vacate their room.

"Zabini?" Hermione standing in the doorway of the study/her room and saw Blaise sitting on her bed, reading a book.

"Sorry, I'll just be going now." He said gently getting up off the bed and returning the book.

"You don't…you don't have to." Hermione said quietly her eyes downcast as she made her way to sit on the bed.

"Hermione, I don't want you to feel like you have to ask me to stay here."

"Zabini-"

"Please, call me Blaise. I would much prefer it."

"Okay, Blaise," she said looking him in the eye, "you don't have to leave. I would actually like to talk to you about something." She said patting the spot on the bed next to her.

"What's wrong?" Blaise asked as he sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry that you're stuck with me like this."

"Stuck?"

"I know that you don't really want this. Neither does Malfoy. I can't find a way out of it though. I've been doing some research and it seems like we're stuck in this marriage because we consummated it."

"Hermione, I want this marriage. I want you and Draco in every possible way. I've felt more whole since putting on these rings than I've felt in my whole life." Blaise said tentatively reaching out to grab Hermione's hand. He smiled when she didn't withdraw her hand and let him tenderly hold it.

"But Malfoy doesn't, does he? There's no way he wants this. He hates me."

"No, I promise he doesn't."

"You do know that the two of you aren't exactly quiet, right? I heard you arguing…"

"Hermione," Blaise said gently giving her had a quick squeeze, "I'm so sorry that you had to hear that. Draco, well, he just-"

"Hates me," Hermione said interrupting him, "he hates me. _It doesn't feel right_, remember?"

Blaise sighed deeply, "He did say that but I don't think that he meant it."

"Why would he say it then?" Hermione asked, her voice breaking as tears started welling in her eyes. She did understand why she was crying, and yet she was.

"Oh, Hermione," Blaise said, his voice thick with emotion as he cupped her face in his free hand, "sometimes people say things when they're mad or worried. Draco doesn't know how to act around you; he's so used to pretending to hate you that now he doesn't know what to do."

"Well, now he doesn't have to pretend anymore. He can show everyone how much he hates me." Hermione said nuzzling into his touch.

"He doesn't hate you though. He loves you." Blaise said pulling her closer to him, surprised when she let him.

"He can't love me." Hermione said looking up into Blaise's eyes.

"He can and he does." Blaise said. "Just like I do."

"You do?" Hermione asked with venerability in her voice and eyes.

"How can I not love you?" Blaise asked smiling down at her. "You're funny and you're smart and you're brave and, blimey, you're beautiful. You're everything that anyone could ever want."

Hermione smiled at him gently and didn't resist when he leaned down to press his lips against hers. She sighed as he deepened the kiss and leaned in closer. She felt a warm tingling sensation growing within her. She frowned when Blaise suddenly pulled away from her.

"Well, I'll be dammed." She heard Draco said. Hermione's eyes snapped to the doorway and saw Draco standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and a mix of hatred and hurt in his stormy grey eyes. "You two look cozy." He said with venom in his voice. He then turned sharply on his heel and walked to the bedroom slamming the door.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I have to-"

"Go," Hermione said gently, "I'll be fine." She told him bringing his head down and kissing him briefly but sweetly. "Thank you."

"For?" Blaise asked as he stood.

"Everything. The bed, the armoire, the kiss. Everything."

"You're welcome." Blaise said smiling at her as he reached for the door handle. "I'll see you in the morning?" When he saw her nod his smile broadened. "Love you." He said as he closed the door behind him.

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A/N: Again, I thank you for reading and reviewing. I appreciate each and every one of your comments, suggestions, and ideas! I am so blessed to have such great people reading, and mostly loving, this story. Remember to review!


	5. Chapter V

A/N: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! Y'all are amazing and I can't wait to continue writing for you! I truly value your ideas and input! Your reviews really do motivate me to write and to continue with this story. Also, I finally figured out how to make a line, as seen below, so I can now change between characters/scenes without those annoying a's! Yay me!

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Draco, Blaise, and Hermione continued in almost peaceful cohabitation for two weeks. There were, of course, arguments and bickering about little things like the fact that Draco never picks up his towels or the fact that Blaise takes forty-five minutes getting ready in the mornings. Hermione and Draco almost never talked but when they did the conversations were short, tense, and almost always ended up with name calling and bitter feelings. Blaise tried to act as bridge between the two but it never really works. Hermione tries to spend most of her time split between school work, Heads duties (which prove to be more difficult than expected because of Draco), her friends, and her budding friendship with Blaise. She and Blaise hadn't shared much physical contact since that kiss. A few small touches here and there but nothing like that kiss. Even without the touching she and Blaise had gotten close. They would talk about everything from the books that Hermione was reading to why Blaise wants to be a healer. She started to learn little things about him like how he was grumpy if he didn't get enough sleep. He started to lean little things about her too like how she preferred orange juice to pumpkin juice.

Hermione was sitting in the library after hours working on a potions essay when she felt a presence behind her. She drew her wand and turned around. Her wand flew from her hand and she cursed under her breath wondering how she was going to defend herself.

"I'm surprised I could disarm you that quick." Draco said menacingly.

"Malfoy," Hermione said, "what on Earth are you doing here?"

"Listen, and listen well." He said in a low voice as he started to back her into a wall. "Blaise is _mine_."

"Technically, he's _ours_." Hermione said trying not to show her fear.

"No, Hermione, that's where you're wrong. He's not your and he never will be. I don't like how you're leading him on. You'll never love him like he loves you so stop pretending that you ever will."

"You don't know anything about me, Malfoy. Nothing."

"Stay away from him, Granger." Draco said walking away without a backwards glance.

Hermione took a deep breath and let it go slowly. She was too upset to return to her essay and she was a little bit afraid to return to her room instead she headed to the Gryffindor tower to find some comfort in her friends.

She made her way to her old tower. When he arrived at the Fat Lady she said the password and made her way inside reveling in the comforting smells that only the Gryffindor common room could provide. When she looked around she caught sight of Ginny sitting on the couch with her face shoved in a pillow crying and Ron trying to comfort her. She cautiously walks over to them and gently asks, "What's wrong, Gin?"

Instead of responding Ginny continues to cry without ceasing. Ron responds for her, "Harry was cheating on her with Luna. He broke off his relationship with Gin tonight so he could be with her."

"Ginny, I am so sorry." Hermione says as she sits next to Ron and starts to run Ginny's back. The three of them sat there until Ginny was all cried out.

When Ginny was all cried out she fell asleep and Ron looked at Hermione and said, "Stay here while I bring her up to her room." Hermione nodded.

She sat there as Ron brought his sister upstairs and put her to bed. When he came back down she asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, do you want to go on a walk with me?"

Hermione smiled and said, "Sure, technically you're not allowed to be out after curfew but I guess that I'll allow it this once."

Ron laughed and put his hand on the small of her back to lead her out of the common room and down the corridor. They talked about everything, how their years were going, what exactly happened with Harry and Ginny, how her Head Girl duties were going, all the while his hand never leaving its place on the small of her back. They walked out to the lake and sat on one of the benches that had been placed along the shore. Hermione leaned against him as he rubbed his up and down her back. She looked up at him and smiled, he brought his head down for a kiss and Hermione sighed into his kiss. When he deepened the kiss she let him. Hermione knew that it was wrong to be doing this with Ron but she didn't try to stop the kiss and when he suggested that they go somewhere more private she readily agreed.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

"Where were you?" Blaise asked Draco when he walked through the door.

"I went to talk to Granger." Draco responded as he headed to the kitchen to get an apple.

"Really?" Blaise asked in surprise. "What did you talk about?"

"I talked to her about how much I care about you."

"You didn't threaten her?" Blaise asked icily.

"No, I wouldn't call it a threat. I encouraged her to not hurt you." Draco corrected Blaise.

"She was scared of you." Blaise said angrily. "She was really scared of you. Why did you do it?"

"Blaise, I just want to protect you." Draco said gently. "I just want to make sure that you're not going to be hurt by her."

"I don't need your protection! Hermione isn't going to hurt me, she wouldn't. I don't know what you're playing at but I don't appreciate it, Draco. I can take care of myself."

"I'm not playing at anything! I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"What's gotten into you? Are you jealous of my relationship with Hermione?"

"What!?" Draco said harshly. "Of course I'm not jealous of Granger!"

"It seems like you are! I'll have you remember that we're both married to her. We committed to be in a relationship with her for the rest of our lives. Stop being a jealous arsehole."

"I'm not being an arsehole and I am _not_ jealous of Granger!"

Blaise rolled his eyes and said, "Stop lying to yourself, Draco. One day you'll see that I'm right and that Hermione isn't going to hurt me or you, for that matter."

"And if that day comes you can say 'I told you so' all you want."

"Good," Blaise said with a laugh, "you know I hate it when we fight like this…I'm going to go to bed, it's late." He said standing and going over to kiss Draco. "Care to join me?"

"In a minute." Draco said. When Blaise had went upstairs Draco sighed deeply and sat down on the couch pondering if he made the right decision in telling Hermione to back off. If he was being honest he did want a relationship with Hermione and it did feel good to have her around. Her presence was comforting to him even when they did bicker all the time. He liked the debates he had with her, he liked how she challenged him intellectually, and he liked how she was willing to stand up for herself against him. What he liked most about her though is how much Blaise liked her. He pulled himself away from his thoughts and went upstairs to bed.

"Draco," Blaise said gently shaking Draco awake about an hour after he fell asleep, "do you feel that?"

"What?" Draco said groggily as he turned over to look into the eyes of his husband.

"Do you feel that?" Blaise asked again. "It's _pleasure_."

"I do feel that. Is that you?"

"No, I thought that maybe it was you?" when Draco shook his head Blaise said, "Hermione?" he got up and rushed over to Hermione's room Draco followed quick on his heels.

When they arrived at Hermione's room they saw that she wasn't there and the bed hadn't even been made full size again.

"I guess she's getting her kicks somewhere else." Draco said with an edge of anger in his voice.

"No, no, she wouldn't do that. I know that she wouldn't. She wouldn't do that to us."

"Told you so." Draco said rudely before he could stop himself. His face fell when Blaise ran out of the room and sighed as he heard the portrait slam shut.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Hermione sighed contently as she snuggled closer to the warm body lying next to her in bed. A shiver went down her back and she reached out to find the warmth of her second husband and draw him close. When she couldn't find him her eyes snapped open and she bolted up in the bed her eyes frantically searching the room. Fear and bile rose in her throat as she realized that she was not in her room and she was not in bed with her husbands. She glanced down and saw Ron lying there and her face fell. She got up out of bed and quickly found her clothes, preformed a spell so this didn't look like the walk of shame that it is, and went to find Ginny. She frowned as she remembered what Ginny had gone through last night; Harry had broken her heart by cheating on her with Luna, just like _she _had just cheated on Draco and Blaise. She couldn't go to Luna so she sought out Harry instead, certainly he would understand her situation.

"Harry," Hermione said to him as she approached him sitting at the Gryffindor table "can I talk to you? In private?"

"If this is about Ginny-"

"It's not! I just really need your advice." Hermione said. She watched as he stood and they walked together outside to sit in one of the courtyards.

"What's wrong, 'Mione?" Harry asked gently once they had gotten settled. "Don't you normally go to Ginny with these sort of things?"

"I do," Hermione said with a light chuckle "I couldn't go to her with this though. I made a horrible mistake Harry." Hermione started as she proceeded to tell Harry everything that happened from the marriage to her adultery with Ron.

"Shouldn't those rings prevent something like that from happening?" Harry asked.

"They should…that's what you're concerned with?" Hermione asked stunned.

"Sometimes shit happens." Harry responded with a shrug. "You could have done a lot worse. Zabini and Malfoy are almost as smart as you and they're actually kind of nice and they aren't bad looking blokes. You could have married Crabbe and Goyle!"

"Except I couldn't have one is dead and the other is in Azkaban. I could never tell which was which."

"I don't think anyone could." Harry said with a laugh. "Was it even good last night?"

"No," Hermione said laughing and putting her head in her hands "it was really bad!"

"Okay, then, don't do it again and it should all blow over. If it was as bad as you say then it shouldn't be so hard to not do it again."

"What if Ron does want to though? What if Ron thinks that we're together now?"

"He doesn't. He's a Pureblood and he had to have noticed those rings and the tattoo that symbolize your marriage. Not only did he have to notice them he also had to know what they mean."

"Should I tell them?"

"If they ask you about it then yes but if they don't ask then you shouldn't tell." Harry said firmly. Hermione nodded her head in agreement as they stood to go back to the castle talking about Harry's new relationship with Luna.

* * *

"You didn't come back last night. I was worried." Draco said when Blaise entered their bedroom.

"I went for a walk to clear my head."

"I'm sorry, Blaise. I'm so sorry for how I treated you last night. I shouldn't have been so smug about this. I've been thinking and I think that we need to talk to Granger about what she did."

"No, we aren't going to talk to her about it." Blaise said quietly as he sat down on the bed next to Draco.

"Why? She has to answer for what she did!"

"And if you _really_ wanted to do that the rings would have done it for you. You don't want her to get hurt for this and you know it."

"Like hell I don't!"

"You're right, you don't want her to get hurt because you bloody love her! And don't you even try to deny it! I can feel what you feel, Draco, remember? I can feel the absolute joy that you feel when you see her, enough bloody joy to fight off a dementor. I can feel the arousal when she does that thing with her lips that drives you crazy. I can feel the jealousy when you realize that she and I have become friends and you still fight like children. I can feel the love you feel for her. I can feel it! And I know that when you can't sleep or after you've had a nightmare you go into her room to make sure she's okay and that comforts you enough to make you go back to sleep. I know that you love her!"

"Blaise-"

"NO! Don't you dare try to tell me otherwise becau-"

"You're bloody right!" Draco exclaimed. "You're right. I do love her. That's why this has been so hard on me. I can't seem to show her that I love her. I see her and there's an argument and I see her with you and it makes me so mad because I see her falling for you! She'll love you; you're easy to love. I'm not easy to love and I don't think that she will ever love me. Every time I see her it hurts, Blaise it hurts so much to know that I want her so much and she doesn't feel the same." Draco said breaking down into tears.

Blaise wrapped his arms around Draco to comfort him saying "She will feel the same, I know she will. You just have to give her the chance to see what I see. I don't see someone who's hard to love when I look at you. Instead, I see someone who has been through hell and who has sacrificed everything to fight for what he believes in. If that's not lovable then what is?" Blaise asked gently as Draco sobbed against his chest. "We won't confront Hermione, she'll come to us when she's ready."

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A/N: review, review, review!


	6. Chapter VI

A/N: Thanks so much for all your love and support as I've continued writing. Without y'all I'm not sure I would have the motivation to keep writing! Your reviews have been awesome and I love reading your ideas and thoughts on the chapters! I appreciate y'all more than words could express.

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It had been a week since Hermione's betrayal and the boys were still acting like nothing had ever happened. Hermione was confused as to what she should do next and she finally broke down and went to Ginny for advice.

"I slept with Ron." Hermione blurted out after she had gotten Ginny alone.

"Excuse me, what? You slept with my _brother_?" When Hermione nodded she said "You're married, Hermione."

"I know and I feel horrible about what I did."

"Good, you should feel bad, you should feel like a piece of rubbish because you are a piece of rubbish. You're _married_ to two amazing blokes, Hermione. Why can't that be enough for you?"

"Amazing?" Hermione asked getting aggravated. "They are a lot of things, Gin, amazing isn't one of them."

"Are you kidding me right now? They aren't amazing? Really? Are you blind? They have allowed you to not sleep in the same bed as them. They haven't been pressuring you to do anything that you don't want to do. They have been supportive of you and your decisions. Did you know that Blaise stuck up for you against one of his Housemates that was bad mouthing you? Did you know that they decided to only go as far as you wanted to go even if they wanted more? Did you know that they bloody love you, Hermione and you don't deserve their love!?"

"If you think that they are so bloody spectacular why don't you date them?" Hermione said with venom in her voice.

"_Because you already have them._" Ginny said matching Hermione's tone. "You already have them and you're treating them horribly! They are trying their hardest to make this easier for you and you just up and cheat on them with _Ron_? You're not the person I once knew. The Hermione I knew wouldn't have treated someone like that. The Hermione I knew was a role model, someone I looked up to, not a slag." Ginny screamed before she stormed off leaving Hermione in tears by herself.

* * *

"We should do something for her." Blaise said as he and Draco were cuddling on the couch.

"What?" Draco asked putting his book down.

"We should do something nice for her. Show her how dedicated we are to this relationship."

"Blaise, I think that we've shown how dedicated we are to this." Draco said showing Blaise his hand and wrist.

Blaise laughed leaning up to kiss Draco tenderly. "I still think that we should do something."

"How about we just buy her a new book?" Draco asked smiling at his husband.

"No, that's not personal enough! We should make her dinner!" Blaise said his eyes glowing. "That would be perfect! I wonder what her favorite foods are. We should ask Ginny! She would know."

When they heard a knock on the door Draco detangled himself from Blaise and went to the door saying "I don't think that Ginny would know that."

"What wouldn't I know?" Ginny asked as she stepped through the portrait hole and under Draco's arm letting herself in.

"Sure just come on in." Draco muttered under his breath as he followed Ginny to the seating area.

"What Hermione's favorite foods are." Blaise said from the couch.

"Oh, I do know but why do you want to know?"

"Blaise had the idea to make her dinner. He's been trying to win her over."

"She doesn't deserve it." Ginny said aggressivly. "She doesn't deserve the two of you."

"Whoa, that was heated." Draco said defensively. "I think that she does deserve us. She's bloody brilliant, you know?"

"No, she isn't" Ginny said with an unladylike snort. "She's a harlot."

"Don't you dare talk about her like that in front of us!" Blaise said angrily rising from the couch.

"Why not!? She is a harlot, a slut! She slept with Ron!" Ginny said before she could stop herself.

"You don't think that we know that?" Draco asked crossing his arms over his chest. "This rings are special little things. We knew the minute it happened, Ginny."

"What?" Ginny asked flabbergasted. "You've known? And you haven't done anything?"

"She'll come to us in due time." Blaise said coolly mimicking the defensive stance that Draco had adopted.

"Don't those rings have an anti-adultery spell?" Ginny asked defiantly.

"They do but it's up to the betrayed to use it or to not. Blaise and I decided to not punish Hermione any more than she's already punishing herself." Draco said tightly.

"And you aren't upset about this?" Ginny asked her gaze softening as she sank into the armchair.

"We bloody well are upset." Draco said his exhaustion clear in his tone. "Blaise and I thought that it would be better if we just let her come to us with this." He finished as he took a seat on the couch. When Blaise sat next to him Draco caught his hand with his and entwined their fingers.

"I just don't understand." Ginny said carefully. "I don't understand why she did this. It's not like her, you know? She's not," Ginny paused trying to find the words "she not _disloyal_ like this."

Blaise snorted. "She has no loyalty to us, Gin. Loyalty requires a bit of trust, yeah? You have to trust that the person or persons that you're loyal to are going to do the right thing and be good people. Hermione, at least to me, isn't the type to just blindly throw loyalty to whoever wants it. We may be married but she's going to be more loyal to Ron and Harry and you than she is to us, at least for right now. She'll start to trust us and then she'll be loyal to us but for right now she's not."

"We've been trying to win her trust but it's hard. I've done so much wrong to her and it's hard to build a relationship with a women who you were taught to hate. It's hard to build a relationship with someone who can only see the wrongs you've done." Draco said his voice indifferent but his eyes showing how hurt he is.

"Do you think she'll tell you?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Yeah, I think that once we show her how trustworthy we are she'll come around." Blaise said. "She has to come around. She has to."

"Is that the purpose of you making her dinner?" Ginny asked. "To show her that you're good blokes who have hearts?"

"Basically." Blaise said a small smile playing on his lips. "So…" Blaise trailed off trying to fill the room with something other than awkward silence.

Ginny rolled her eyes and shook her head lightly "She really likes stuffed peppers and she never gets them because they aren't exactly common fare at Hogwarts."

"I can make stuffed peppers." Blaise said with a broad grin on his face and joy in his eyes.

* * *

"Hermione!" Blaise exclaimed the next day when he had gotten back from class. "Just the witch I wanted to talk to." He said as he threw himself onto the couch.

"Hello, Blaise." Hermione said closing her book and looking at the wizard. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Don't make any plans for dinner tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay? Why not?"

"Draco and I decided to make dinner here and we want you to eat with us. This will be a great time to get to know each other."

"Okay, that sounds good." Hermione said. "What time should I be ready?"

"Draco gets out of practice around five on Saturdays so let's say six?"

"That works, I'll try not to get too caught up at the library." Hermione said picking her book up again.

"What? No 'how was your day, honey?'" Blaise asked indignantly.

Hermione sighed and asked, "How was your day?"

"Great! Madam Pomprey asked if I could go and help at the Hospital Wing. She says that it will be a good start to my training as a Healer."

"That's awesome, Blaise. She must think that you're going to be rather good if she's willing to let you help her."

"Yeah," Blaise said with a smile and a laugh. "How was your day?"

"It was good. Professor Babbling gave me a book to work on so I'll be occupied for a while."

"Professor Babbling?" Blaise asked curiously.

"She's the Ancient Runes professor." Hermione said. "I've been doing an independent study with her for about a year."

"I didn't know that you liked Ancient Runes that much. Why do you like it?" Blaise asked.

"It's kind of like problem solving. Right now I'm looking at an ancient medical text. Professor Babbling thinks that some of the advances in modern medicine have led to improper treatments and that if we know how they used to do it we'll have better treatments available. "

"That's actually really interesting." Blaise said. "And you seem to really like it. Any possibility that you'll want to pursue a career in Ancient Runes?"

"I haven't thought much about it actually. I put my career aspirations on hold while the war was happening."

"I think that a lot of people did." Blaise said quietly. "I'll let you get back to your book." He said as he stood.

"It was good talking to you, Blaise." Hermione said quickly.

"You too, Hermione." Blaise said flashing her a smile before he made his way upstairs to his room.

* * *

Hermione got back from the library at 5:45. When she walked into her room the smell of stuffed peppers wafted from the kitchen and there were dozens of lit candles floating in the air.

"Hermione?" Blaise called from the kitchen. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me." Hermione said as she walked over to where Blaise was. "Did you do all of this?" She asked when she entered the kitchen.

"Yeah," Blaise said shrugging. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Blaise, this looks amazing." Hermione said smiling at him.

"Thanks, love." Blaise responded giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Go put your stuff down and have a seat. Dinner will be ready soon."

When Hermione came back down she saw that Draco had come home and had his arms wrapped around Blaise from behind. She smiled lightly upon seeing this intimate moment between two people who are clearly in love. She walked over to them and tentatively put her hand on Draco's back. He recoiled in surprise.

"Blimey, Granger! Don't sneak up on a bloke like that." Draco said playfully.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I was just going to ask if you and Blaise needed any help."

"Blaise has everything covered, I was just keeping him company." Draco said with a small laugh. His smile broadened when he saw that Hermione was smiling at him.

"Dinner is ready." Blaise said "Go on, have a seat, I'll bring the food out!"

"After you, Granger." Draco said extending his arm to indicate that she should go first. When they got to the table Draco pulled out her chair for her and she smiled up at him saying a small thank you.

Blaise came into the small dining area carrying three plates. He put Hermione's and Draco's down before finally sitting himself.

"This looks amazing." Hermione said looking at the food that Blaise had prepared. "Stuffed peppers are my favorite."

"We know." Blaise said smiling at her. "Ginny told us. Let's eat before it gets cold."

They made polite conversation about classes, how Draco's practice went, and complimenting Blaise on his cooking. After about twenty minutes the conversation dwindled to nothingness and they ate in awkward silence.

"How about we play a game?" Blaise said when he couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"What kind of game were you thinking?" Hermione asked relieved that someone had finally talked.

"I was thinking ten questions because we'll hardly have time for twenty. We barely know anything about you and you don't know much about us. This would be a great opportunity to get to know each other." Blaise said quickly.

"That could get really personal." Draco said apprehensively.

"Malfoy is right. That could be entirely too personal for my taste."

"How about this then, one person will ask the question but all three of us have to answer. This way you'll only ask questions you're comfortable answering too. That should eliminate some of the personal questions." Blaise suggested smiling at Draco and Hermione.

"So, then thirty questions total? That seems like a lot." Hermione said quickly. "How about fifteen questions total? That way we can each ask five?"

"Seems fair to me." Draco said returning Blaise's smile.

"Ladies first." Blaise said smiling at Hermione.

* * *

A/N: Remember to review!


	7. Chapter VII

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews (again)! Y'all are amazing.

* * *

"Okay, let me think." Hermione paused pondering the questions that were rolling through her head. "What's your favorite childhood memory?"

Blaise responded first saying "Mother teaching me how to cook. I was five or so and she invited me into the kitchen with her I sat and watched her create beautiful dishes. I couldn't wait to start cooking with her. She told me that when I was eight I could start helping and on my eighth birthday she let me help her make my cake. She always used to say that cooking was a practical life skill and that more men should learn how to cook because there is nothing more attractive than a man who knows his way around a kitchen."

"She did a good job teaching you." Hermione said with a smile. "Malfoy? What about you? What's your favorite childhood memory?"

"Mother would read me bedtime stories and she would sneak Muggle books into the Manor to read to me. She would make different voices for the characters and her eyes would glow with life. I loved going to bed at night because I knew that story time was near. The Giving Tree was my favorite." Draco said with a smile as he remembered his fondest childhood memories.

"What about you, Hermione?" Blaise asked with curiosity written all over his face.

"There was a really big snowstorm one day. Big enough to warrant school being cancelled. My mum and dad took the day off work and we spent the day making snowmen and having snowball fights until it got to cold and we had to go inside. Mum made us hot chocolate and we sat by the fire to warm up again. It was great." Hermione said smiling broadly.

"I've never made a snowman or had a snowball fight." Draco said quietly.

"Really?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Never?"

"No, Father wouldn't allow it. He said it was too juvenile and Mother thought that I would get sick if I went out in the cold."

"You never did it when you got here?" Hermione asked gently.

"No, by the time I got here _I_ thought it was juvenile." Draco said giving her a sad smile.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Blaise said "Okay, next question! Why do the two of you keep on calling each other by surname?"

"That's not fair! You can't answer that." Draco said quickly.

"True, but I can explain why I decided to ask Hermione to call me by my first name. Which is just as good really."

"Fine," Draco said pouting. "I don't call Granger by her first name because I don't think she very well wants me to. And she doesn't call me by my first name which indicates that she's not comfortable with that yet."

"I was taking my cues from you." Hermione said defensively. ""If you were to call me Hermione I would call you Draco."

"Really?" Draco asked in surprise.

"Yeah, why not?" Hermione said quietly unable to look him in the eye.

"Okay, Hermione." Draco said smiling as her name rolled off his lounge.

"Draco." Hermione said looking up at him. "I kind of like your name, Draco. It rolls off the lounge well."

"I was just thinking the same of yours, Hermione." Draco said smiling at her. "It really is a beautiful name."

"Thanks." Hermione said grinning at him. "I hated it as a kid but it's grown on me."

"So, Blaise, why did you ask Hermione to call you by first name?"

"It was just better that way. I figured that it was easier to gain your trust if we were open with each other and using surnames always seemed a little…impersonal to me."

"I guess that makes sense. If you call someone by their last name it's easier to keep them at a distance." Hermione said thoughtfully. "Okay, Draco, you're turn. Ask us anything."

"If you would travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why?" Draco asked after a few minutes of thinking.

"Italy." Blaise said quickly. "I'm of Italian decent and I speak Italian but I've never been."

"Doesn't your family own an estate in Italy?" Draco asked.

"Yeah but I've never been there. Mother always said she would take me but never did." Blaise said with a far off look in his eye. "What about you, Hermione?"

"I've never been out of the country so I would be fine going anywhere. Italy would be lovely. They have good food and we would have a translator and an estate to stay at." Hermione said glancing at Blaise. "Yep, Italy. Italy would be the place I would go."

"I would go to Italy as well, then. If only because that's where you both want to go."

"That's not really answering the question then, is it? You would only go because of us?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione, there's something that you need to understand about Draco, he'll go anywhere if we wanted to go there. Hell, he would probably go to the North Pole if we wanted to go. What makes us happy makes him happy. He's cute that way." Blaise said rolling his eyes as Draco nodded his head.

"Well, Hermione, I guess it's your turn now." Draco said with a light blush across his cheeks.

They sat in silence until Hermione thought of her question. "What's your biggest worry about wearing the rings?"

"I'm worried about the sharing power part of it. I mean it's good and it can be so useful but I'm worried that something bad will happen because of it." Blaise said quickly.

"I'm not worried about that part." Draco said with a shrug. "I'm more worried about how intimate they are. Both of you can feel my feelings and my pain; that's not something that I'm used to."

"You're worried about feelings?" Hermione asked surprised by his response.

"Yep, it's just so personal. I'm not good at dealing with my own emotions much less yours and Blaise's and I'm really bad at expressing my feelings so having the two of you just _feel_ them is just too personal. What about you, Hermione? What are you worried about?"

"I'm worried about the fact that I don't know everything about the rings. I don't know the little things that the rings can do yet and that's intimidating. I don't like not knowing." Hermione said softly.

"You'll learn all the little things that come with wearing the rings. The longer you where them the easier it will be to feel what we feel and to draw on our power if needed. All those perks we talked about before are only going to become more apparent as time goes on." Draco said.

"It's my turn to ask, right?" When Draco nodded Blaise asked "What's your biggest fear?"

"Failure. That's what the boggart turned into third year, McGonagall telling me that I'd failed everything. I think that it's a different type of failure now though not the fear of failing out of school." Hermione said.

"What type of failure is it then? What are you afraid of failing at?" Draco asked.

"I think that I'm afraid of failing at life. Not getting into a career that I love. Not being around people that I love and who love me. Just failing everything." Hermione said feeling very venerable.

"I'm afraid of turning into my father." Draco said quietly.

Blaise and Hermione waited for him to elaborate but when he made it clear that he wasn't going to say anymore on the subject Blaise said "My greatest fear is letting the two of you down."

"What?" Hermione asked flabbergasted.

"Think about it. You and Draco fought in the war, you stood up for what you believe in, and you're bloody war heroes. I didn't participate in the war. I didn't stand up for what I believe in. How could I possibly compare?"

"I don't want you to compare." Hermione said before Draco could talk. "I want you to be _you_. You wouldn't fight in the war and I like that about you. I like the fact that you didn't want to use violence to get what you wanted to stand up for what you believe."

"You did fight." Draco said after Hermione had stopped talking. "You fought for me. Without you I doubt that I would have made it through the war, Blaise. You saved me."

"Don't ever think that you'll let us down." Hermione said reaching across the small table to caress his cheek. "You won't let us down."

"Hermione's right, there's no way you'll let us down." Draco said reaching for Blaise's hand and grasping it lightly.

Blaise looked up with tears in his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely positive." Hermione said rubbing her thumb across his cheekbone.

"Okay, this has been too emotional for one night. Let's clean up from dinner and go to bed?" Draco suggested feeling emotionally exhausted as he released Blaise's hand and stood up.

"Wait!" Hermione exclaimed her hand dropping from Blaise's face. "I have one more question."

"Okay, ask away." Draco said sitting back down.

"The two of you know about Ron, don't you?" Hermione asked unable to look at them.

"Yes," Blaise sighed "we know. We knew when it happened."

"Why didn't you say anything? Or do anything? You could have punished me, right?"

"We could have." Draco said gently. "We didn't want to."

"I am so sorry." Hermione said her voice breaking with emotion as tears started to run down her face. "I don't even know why I did it. I-"Hermione broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

"Hermione," Draco said pulling her into his arms "it's okay. It happened and it's done and it's not going to happen again, right?"

"No" Hermione squeaked out. "It wasn't even good."

Blaise laughed as he pulled his chair around to sit next to Hermione and started to rub her back. He waited for her to calm down before saying "It's okay, Hermione."

"No, it's not." Hermione said raising her head from Draco's chest which was soaked with her tears. "I betrayed both of you and then I couldn't even tell you about it. I am so sorry."

"It's fine, Hermione. So, how bad was it?" Draco asked.

Hermione laughed and said "Really bad. He only took care of himself."

"That wasn't very considerate of him." Blaise said with a laugh. "Do you feel better now that you've gotten that off your chest?"

"Yeah," Hermione said sniffling and rubbing her eyes. "Why didn't you do anything? I did some research, these rings can do some damage to adulterers."

"Hermione, we don't want _any_ harm to come to you. Ever. Now, if you were to say give us your approval to kick Ron Wesley's arse we wouldn't be opposed." Draco said.

"Why wouldn't you just kick his arse anyways?" Hermione asked.

"Well, he's your friend. And if we hurt him then we hurt you at the same time. Friends don't like to see friends get hurt." Blaise explained.

"I don't think that we're going to be friends much longer." Hermione said softly, a few tears falling from her eyes.

"Really?" Draco asked as he reached out to wipe the tears from her face. "Why not?"

"It's been strange since _it _happened. I can't even look at him especially because he knows that I'm married."

"How does he know?" Blaise asked still rubbing her back.

"Harry told me that Ron saw the rings and because he's Pureblood there's no way he didn't know exactly what they represent…then again so do I." Hermione said her breath hitching.

"It's over and it's done and now we can kick his arse without risking hurting you." Draco said calmly. "But right now, it's late and I'm tired. I think that we should do the dishes and then go to bed. If you're still upset about this tomorrow we can talk more about it then."

"Okay," Hermione said nodding her head. "I know a spell to clean the dishes for us so that way you don't have to."

"Why do you assume that I would be doing the dishes?" Draco asked indignantly.

"Draco isn't a fan of household chores." Blaise filled Hermione in quickly.

"I like some chores, just not dishes." Draco said in a huff. "How do you know a spell to clean the dishes?"

"It's amazing what you can learn while living with Molly Wesley." Hermione as she drew her wand and said a quick spell that sent all the dishes to the sink and started cleaning. "And now Draco doesn't have to do them." She said smiling.

Draco chuckled and bid them goodnight before going upstairs.

"He doesn't like to be emotional around people does he?" Hermione asked Blaise when Draco had gone upstairs.

"No, he hates it actually. But he is right tonight has been exhausting and I'm tired too. Do you want to join us?" Blaise asked.

"Not tonight but I'm getting there." Hermione said.

"Okay, good night, Hermione." Blaise said kissing her on the cheek before standing up and going upstairs.

Hermione sighed and hung her head unwilling to move. Draco and Blaise didn't hate her and they were actually really good people who cared about her, Ginny was right. She smiled thinking about how good it would be to have more nights like this one before she slowly stood to make her way upstairs to bed.

* * *

A/N: remember to review!


	8. Chapter VIII

A/N: Update, I still own nothing. I love y'all and the amazing support you've shown me! Thanks for all the reviews and the favorite and the follows. Y'all are truly inspirational. Remember to review!

* * *

Draco woke with a start breathing hard. He had another in a series of nightmares that left him covered in a film of sweat and fear in his heart. He slowly got out of bed and went to stand in Hermione's doorway. It was his new tradition when he had a nightmare, he would wake up, check on Hermione, and then go make himself a cup of tea. Most of his nightmares revolved around her and what would have happened if the Light side would have lost so seeing her safe in her bed brought a level of comfort that was indescribable. When he saw Hermione safely snuggled under her covers he sighed and went downstairs to make a cup of tea. When he made his way back up the stairs, with cup of tea in hand, he stopped by Hermione's room again and saw that she was no longer safe and sound in her bed. She was twitching and rolling around violently. He could feel the fear her dream-state was feeling. He dropped his tea and ran over to her bed to try to wake her up.

"Hermione!" Draco said trying to wake her up. "Hermione, wake up." He said shaking her shoulders.

Hermione woke up struggling for breath and looking around wildly. "Draco?" she asked breathing hard.

"You were having a nightmare. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Hermione said leaning back against her pillows. Draco nodded and stood up to leave. "Stay?"

"How about you come to bed with Blaise and me? It'll be more comfortable than both of us sleeping in this little bed." Draco suggested gently.

"He's right. It will be more comfortable." Blaise said from the door. When Hermione and Draco looked back at the doorway he said "You dropped your tea. It woke me up."

"Sorry." Draco grumbled. "You coming?" Draco asked extending his hand to Hermione.

Hermione didn't say anything. After a minute of silence Blaise said "If you don't want to…"

Hermione grabbed Draco's hand and let him lead her to the bedroom. Hermione got into bed first and crawled to the center of the bed, snuggling down into the comforter. She felt Draco and Blaise get into bed on either side of her and her heart skipped a beat.

"Do you want some dreamless sleep potion? I have some." Draco offered once he had gotten settled.

"No, you're bed is a lot more comfortable than mine. I think that I'll be fine." Hermione said as she snuggled further into the covers already mostly asleep.

Draco watched as Hermione and Blaise started to breath more evenly and deeper as they feel asleep. He started to count Hermione's breaths and he slowly joined them in a blissful sleep.

* * *

Draco woke up early the next morning. He smiled as he realized that Hermione had been using him as a pillow. He glanced over and saw that Blaise was the 'big spoon' and had Hermione's body cradled in his own. Hermione groaned as sunlight streamed through the window and she tried to bury her head in his side. He saw Blaise opening his eyes slowly and blinking the sleep from them.

"Good morning, love." Blaise said gently trying not to wake Hermione.

"Good morning." Draco responded.

"What? No good morning for me?" Hermione grumbled her voice muffled by Draco's body.

Blaise laughed and Hermione felt his chest rumble. "Good morning, Hermione."

Hermione sighed and lifted her head and stretching lightly. "Good morning, Blaise. Good morning, Draco."

"Good morning." Draco said kissing the top of her head. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah." She said putting her head back down on his chest. "Dreamless sleep potion?"

"What?" Blaise asked as he cuddled closer to Hermione.

"Draco said he had some…"

"I do." Draco said looking down at her with affection in his eyes. "I have night terrors so I decided to brew some for myself."

"You brewed it?" Hermione said looking up at him.

"Yes, I'm very good at potions, Hermione."

"Good enough to brew dreamless sleep? That's a hard potion." Hermione said impressed by Draco's skill. Draco shrugged indifferently.

"We should probably get out of bed." Blaise said not moving.

"In a minute." Hermione said surprised by how comfortable she was lying between the two boys. She liked the feeling of Blaise holding her and the sound of Draco's heartbeat as she laid her head on his chest.

They laid in a comfortable silence for a few minutes simply enjoying each other's company. "How did you know my favorite food?" Hermione asked finally breaking the silence.

"Ginny. She came by the other day." Blaise said shifting in bed.

"Really?" Hermione asked lifting her head and looking over her shoulder at Blaise. "Why did you guys talk about?" She asked apprehensively. "Did you talk about Ron?"

"Yes," Draco said cautiously. "She wasn't too pleased with you."

"It didn't make much sense to us. She was more upset than I would have expected." Blaise said.

"Harry cheated on her with Luna. I guess it just hit close to home. She must have come here right after she told me that I'm a slag and not the person she thought I was." Hermione said getting a little emotional. "I'm hungry." She said squashing her feelings down "Do you boys want breakfast?" she asked quickly climbing over Draco to get out of bed.

"Um, sure." Draco said. "Are you okay?" He asked reaching for Hermione's hand.

"I'm fine." Hermione said quickly moving so Draco couldn't touch her. "Eggs and bacon sound good?" she asked as she walked out of the room and made her way downstairs.

"Well, I guess she doesn't want to talk about Ginny." Blaise said quietly.

"Yeah, she's probably mad that Wesley came to us. She may feel betrayed." Draco said as he got up from bed.

"Ginny did what she thought was right. I didn't peg Potter for a cheater." Blaise commented.

"Are you surprised?" Draco asked with a chuckle. "He's Harry _bloody_ Potter. He could have anyone he wanted."

"Except Hermione." Blaise countered. "She looks at him like a sister looks at a brother."

"True." Draco conceded. "She slept in the same bed as us." Draco said smiling broadly. "That's what I'm going to focus on today. We made progress."

"Yes, yes, we did." Blaise said returning Draco's grin. "We should probably go downstairs. Breakfast is probably ready." And with that the boys got dressed and headed downstairs to eat breakfast with their wife. After breakfast they cleaned up and then spent the day together talking and simply being around each other.

* * *

"Hermione!" Ron shouted trying to catch up with Hermione after class on Monday. "Hermione! Blimey you're hard to catch up with. We need to talk."

"Okay, what do you want to talk about Ron?" Hermione asked politely not breaking her stride. "I have a lot to do today."

"I just wanted to see how you were doing after our…encounter?" Ron asked awkwardly.

Hermione snorted indelicately. "Don't pretend like you care."

"I do care!" Ron retorted angrily.

"Yeah, you care. That's why you fucked me when you knew I was married."

"Hermione!" Ron said shocked by her use of a profanity.

"Oh, don't _Hermione_ me like that!" She chastised. "Did you or didn't you know that I'm married when you fucked me?"

"I knew but it's not like you were an unwilling participant!" Ron said grabbing her arm. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"Don't touch me!" Hermione said as she pulled her arm out of his grasp.

"Fine." Ron said putting his hands up the air. "Guess what else I know, _Hermione_. I know that Zabini and Malfoy have the same bloody rings on their fingers. Care to explain?"

"There's nothing for me to explain to you!"

"You married _them_? Were you wasted?"

"What does it matter to you? It's not like we were going to get together!" Hermione said with venom in her voice.

"I beg to differ! If you remember we did get together. Don't pretend that you actually care about them or that they care about you because I guarantee that they don't. You and I would have been happy together! I'm better for you than either of them."

"They do care about me! And don't even try to compare to them because they are better in _every_ aspect!" Hermione said hoping that Ron wouldn't call her bluff.

"Listen to me!" Ron said grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him.

"I told you not to touch me!" Hermione said as she ripped her arm out of his grasp. "Fifty points from Gryffindor and a week's worth of detention with Professor Binns."

"What?" Ron asked harshly. "You can't do that!"

"Yes I can. I'm Head Girl and you just assaulted me." Hermione said with anger in her voice. "Go to hell, Ron." She said as she turned on her heel and made her way back to her room to have a good cry in private hoping that Draco and Blaise weren't there.

She half ran half jogged to her room, when she got there she choked out the password and ran inside collapsing on the floor and sobbing into her hands. Twenty minutes later Hermione was still sobbing uncontrollably. She heard the portrait open and quickly tried to calm down and wipe the tears away.

"Hermione?" Blaise asked gently when he saw her on the floor. He walked over and sank to his knees. "What happened?"

Hermione tried to respond but couldn't choke anything out against her sobs. She only cried harder as Blaise pulled her into his lap, wrapped his arms around her, and started to try to calm her down. Blaise whispered sweet nothings in her ear and rubbed slow circles on her back.

"What happened?" Blaise asked when Hermione's sobs had subsided.

"Ron happened." Hermione said her voice still thick with tears. "We got into a fight and it escalated."

"What do you mean it escalated?" Blaise asked gently.

"He grabbed at me and then I took fifty points from Gryffindor and gave him a week's worth of detention." Hermione said looking at him with tears in her eyes.

"He grabbed at you?" Blaise asked his anger flaring.

"Calm down." Hermione said exhausted from all her crying. "I dealt with him. He knows that we're married."

"How?" Blaise asked trying to keep his anger in check.

"He noticed you and Draco wearing the rings. For someone so stupid he's rather observant." Hermione said bitterly.

Blaise laughed. "You sound tired. Do you want to take a nap?"

Hermione chuckled as she realized that Blaise was trying to lighten the mood. "I can't. I have so much to do. That potions assignment is due soon."

"Soon? Hermione, that's not due for three weeks." Blaise said smiling at her.

"A nap does sound good." Hermione said relaxing against him and sighing.

"Okay." Blaise said putting one arm under her legs and the other on her waist. He stood gently and brought her up with him.

"I'm perfectly capable of walking Blaise." Hermione said trying to wiggle out of his arms.

"I know but I feel like carrying you." Blaise said smiling at her and tightening his grip on her. She shivered as she felt his muscles through his shirt.

"I've gotten tears all over you." Hermione said putting her head against his chest.

"They'll wash out."

"When is Draco coming home?" Hermione asked.

"Now." They heard Draco say behind them, Blaise turned around to face him. "What's going on?" Draco asked with concern in his voice.

"Hermione had a rough day." Blaise said.

"Ron is an asshole." Hermione said smartly.

Draco laughed boisterously and said "You're just now realizing that?"

"I think I've known for a while but he really showed it today." Hermione said.

"They got into an argument and things got a little out of hand. Hermione handled herself pretty well though." Blaise said filling Draco in briefly.

"Of course she handled herself well. She's our little lioness." Draco said smiling broadly.

"We were going to take a nap. Do you want to join us?" Hermione asked smiling at Draco and holding out her hand to him just as he did the previous night.

"I like naps." Draco said smiling and walking towards them as he was about to grab Hermione's hand there was a knock on the portrait. Draco sighed and dropped his hand turning to answer the door.

"Should I put you down now?" Blaise muttered into Hermione's hair as Draco walked to the door.

"No, let's just go hide in the kitchen." Hermione said leaning up to kiss him gently as he walked them over to the kitchen. She didn't break the kiss until he had put her down so she was sitting on the counter.

Hermione's head snapped up when she heard a loud crash and a string of profanities.

"Hermione," Draco said calmly as he walked back to the kitchen with Ron bound and floating behind him "Ron is here to see you."

* * *

A/N: I hope y'all like this chapter! Remember to review!


	9. Chapter IX

A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update! University started up again so I have been very busy with school work. I hope y'all like this chapter. Remember to review!

* * *

"Draco! What did you do?" Hermione asked sliding off the counter and walking towards him.

"He tried to attack me so I defended myself." Draco said. "Do you want me to let him go?"

"Yes." Hermione said quickly. "Maybe? He tried to attack you?"

"Yeah, he saw me and tried to punch me in the face."

"Did he hit you?" Blaise asked with concern in his voice and in his eyes.

"No, I have fast reflexes so I dodged it and then I punched him and bound him." Draco said. "My hand hurts, I forgot how much it hurts to punch someone."

"Draco, let him go." Hermione said drawing her wand and taking a defensive stance. When Draco released Ron from the spell Hermione said "What are you doing here Ron?"

"I came to talk to you. I'm so sorry for what I did today."

"An apology isn't going to fix this." Hermione told him.

"I know." Ron said and they sat in an awkward tense silence for a few moments. "Why did you do it? Why did you sleep with me when you're married to them?"

When Hermione didn't say anything Draco spoke "I think that it was partially my fault."

"Your fault?" Blaise asked confused.

"Hermione and I got into a…we had an altercation earlier that day and she was upset and" Draco sighed deeply "and it's my fault."

"It's not your fault, Draco. It's mine. Just because I was upset with you doesn't mean that I should have betrayed you and Blaise like that. I was dumb, it was dumb."

"Well, I had a great time that night. It's good to know that when you screwed up Hermione came to the better man." Ron said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Don't" Hermione said tensely "don't smirk like that. You were the only one who had a great time that night."

Blaise snorted "At least we know how to pleasure a women." He returned Ron's smirk "That's more than you did."

"I think that you should leave, Ron." Hermione said coolly.

"Fine, I'll go." Ron said putting his hands up in surrender.

"And you won't talk to or touch Hermione ever again." Draco said harshly.

"Or what?" Ron asked. "What could you do to me? I'm a war hero and you're nothing. You're no one."

"They are nothing? Are you kidding? Draco was a spy against Voldemort!" Hermione said angrily. "Don't pretend like you know anything because you don't know a thing about them. And you certainly don't know anything my relationship with them."

"Relationship? You slept with me." Ron said accusingly.

"I slept with you once and it wasn't even good." Hermione said with venom in her voice.

"Whatever you say, 'Mione. When you get tired of them you know where I am." Ron said standing up and walking towards the door. He slammed the portrait door closed.

Hermione took a deep breath and finally relaxed her shoulders and lowered her wand.

"Well, that was a fun time." Blaise said. "Still want to go to bed?"

Hermione looked back at him incredulously. "Really? After all of that you still want to sleep in the same bed as me? You still want to be around me?"

"Of course we do." Draco said gently.

"I think that I'm too riled up to sleep." Hermione said.

"We don't have to _sleep_." Blaise said wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah, there are plenty of activities that we could do in a bed that could help you get rid of your extra energy." Draco said smiling.

"And we promise that you'll be satisfied in a way that Ron just couldn't provide." Blaise said giving her a wink.

"I don't, um, I don't think that I'm comfortable with that yet." Hermione said wringing her hands together and shifting uncomfortably.

"Hermione, you don't have to do anything that you don't want to do." Draco said gently reaching out to caress her face. Hermione let go of the breath she had been holding and leaned into his touch. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I had been friends with him for a long time. We fought side-by-side in the war. We kept each other safe. It's hard to see that change so drastically in such a short amount of time. He just seems so different than he used to be."

Draco took a step closer to her and pulled her into his embrace. "War changes people and it's not always for the better."

"He was always a bit more violent than Harry and me. I knew that the war would change things I just didn't think that it would change him."

"That's just who you are, Hermione." Blaise said as he approached them and joined in their hug. "You always assume the best in people."

"That doesn't feel right." Hermione said thoughtfully after a few moments in the embrace of her husbands.

"What?" Blaise asked confused.

"You. Something doesn't feel right about you. Your placement isn't right." Hermione complained her eyebrows furrowing in concentration.

"Okay then." Blaise said letting go of them.

"No! That's definitely not right." Hermione said fiercely.

Blaise cautiously moved around her and faced Draco raising his eyebrow in a questioning look. When Draco shrugged he wrapped his arms around Hermione and Draco so Hermione was caught between them.

"There, that's better." Hermione said smiling up at them.

"Really?" Draco asked shocked.

"Yes, don't worry I'm rather surprised too. It's actually rather nice being between the two of you though. It's oddly comforting." Hermione said lifting her arms up to wrap around Draco's waist and joining her hands with Blaise's. "Yep, this is good."

* * *

"Hermione." Ginny called out to her friend just one day after the situation with Ron happened. "Hermione, I need to talk to you. It's really important."

"What Gin?" Hermione said turning around and looking at the younger girl.

"I'm a bitch and I'm sorry." Ginny said when she had caught up with Hermione. "I shouldn't have went to Malfoy and Zabini about what you did. I shouldn't have called you names. I should have been a better friend to you and for that I'm sorry."

"You were really rude to me. I've been trying to understand where you were coming from but I just don't understand."

"Harry had just cheated on me. I think that I took my anger at him out on you. He told me why he did it. Harry told me why he cheated. Apparently, while I'm good in bed, we didn't have the same emotional connection that he does with Luna. Luna didn't even know that Harry and I were seeing each other."

"He has an emotional connection with Luna? I never thought that the two of them would get together. I don't see it."

"I do. They seem really happy. I never made him smile like she does. Do you forgive me?" Ginny asked looking up expectantly.

"Yes, I forgive you."

Ginny squealed in happiness and hugged Hermione. When she let go she asked "How are the boys? How's the marriage working out? How are you doing?"

"Good on all fronts."

"Tell me everything!" Ginny said as she and Hermione started walking down the corridor. Hermione told her all about her relationship with the boys and Ginny listened intently.

* * *

"Have you and Hermione even kissed yet?" Blaise asked Draco. It had been three days since Ron had come over and they were sitting in a secluded part of the library studying together.

"Yes." Draco answered.

"When?" Blaise asked curiously.

"I kissed her when we got married and during the festivities afterwards."

"I mean since then. Have you?"

"Yes, I kissed her on top of the head after she spent the night in our bed the first time." Draco responded quickly.

"But you haven't really kissed her? That's strange."

"A kiss on the top of the head is still a kiss!" Draco said defensively.

"It's not a _kiss_ kiss though." Blaise countered puckering his lips and making kissing noises.

"Oh, hush! All in due time, Blaise. All in due time. Are you coming to my match on Saturday? It's the first of the season."

"I can't." Blaise said disappointed. "I have to work in the Hospital Wing. If anything bad happens she wants my help."

"Nothing bad will happen. It's just Ravenclaw." Draco said shrugging trying to hide how disappointed he was that Blaise wasn't going to be there.

"Hermione told me that she's going." Blaise said smiling at Draco.

"She is?" Draco asked surprised. "She's going to be there? Is she going to wear our colors?"

"I doubt that she's going to wear our colors but she told me that she was going and that she would be rooting for you."

Draco grinned broadly saying "Good, I'm happy that she'll be there. I still wish you could come though."

Blaise returned his smile but didn't respond instead going back to his studies.

* * *

Hermione was anxiously awaiting the boys return home from the library. She had moved all the furnishing to a different location and had conjured up enough snow to cover a small village. The snow wouldn't melt and it was cool to the touch but not so cold that it would cause frostbite if you didn't have gloves on. When she heard the door open she wadded through the snow to meet Draco and Blaise at the door.

"Surprise!" She exclaimed when they opened the door.

"What is this?" Draco asked his mouth hanging open and his eyes scanning the room.

"Well, you said that you had never built a snowman or had a snowball fight so I figured we could change that." Hermione said grinning at him her eyes glowing with life.

"You did all this for me?" Draco asked with awe in his voice.

"Yes." Hermione said excitedly. "I love snow!"

"You are spectacular, Hermione. Absolutely bloody spectacular." Draco said. "I can't believe you did all of this."

"Well, love, do you want to make a snowman or have a snowball fight first?" Blaise asked Draco.

"Let's make a snowman." Draco said reaching out to touch the snow. "Hermione, how do you make a snowman?"

Hermione dove into the snow and started to explain how to construct the proper snowman. Eventually all of them were covered in snow and were smiling proudly as they gazed at the snowman they had made.

Hermione screeched when Blaise threw a snowball at her and she quickly returned fire. She smirked at Blaise when her snowball hit him square in the chest. Draco laughed at the look of shock on Blaise's face but his laugh was cut short when a snowball hit him in the side of the face.

"You are so going to pay for that, Hermione." He said with mirth in his voice as he gathered snow in his hands and threw it at her. Hermione squealed and ran away as the snowball fight started.

"I surrender, I surrender." Hermione finally said after the boys had decided to gang up on her. "Do you blokes want some hot chocolate?"

"Yes, please!" Draco said. "Does the snow have to go away now?" He asked with disappointment in his voice.

"It doesn't have to. If you want to continue to play we can." Hermione responded.

"I think I'm tired. Playing in the snow is exhausting." Draco said with a laugh.

"I'll make the hot chocolate while the two of you clean up?" Blaise asked.

"Sure." Hermione said smiling and taking out her wand to start cleaning up the mess. "You know when it really snows we can do this again."

"I think I would like that." Draco said as he watched Hermione reverse all the spells she cast. "Thank you."

"For what?" Hermione asked smiling at him and putting her wand away after the last of the normal décor had returned. They sat down on the couch together and Draco put his arm around Hermione pulling her close to him.

"For this. This was amazing." Draco responded quietly looking down at her with love and adoration in his eyes.

"It was nothing." Hermione responded with the same amount of love and adoration in her eyes that was in his.

"It was everything." Draco said smiling and pushing some hair out of her face. "It was everything."

Hermione returned his smile and put her hand on his cheek slowly rubbing his cheekbone. She pulled his face closer to her own and leaned in to kiss him gently. Draco groaned and quickly deepened the kiss one of his hands made its way to the nape of her neck while the other grasped at her waist.

Hermione was all but straddling Draco when Blaise walked in saying "Blimey if the two of you don't stop this is going to lead to something entirely more intimate than snogging."

Hermione and Draco broke apart. "Sorry." Hermione mumbled blushing.

"We'll be sure to include you next time, love." Draco said smiling at Blaise suggestively.

Blaise rolled his eyes and set the mugs of hot chocolate on the coffee table before he sat down on the couch next to Hermione.

"Can I have one of your ties?" Hermione asked after a couple of minutes of comfortable silence.

"Sure. Why?" Blaise asked looking at her curiously.

"I want to charm in into a necklace and wear it on Saturday." Hermione explained.

"You want to wear Slytherin colors?" Draco asked with a goofy smile plastered on his face. "So, you're coming to cheer me on and you're going to be wearing my colors?"

"That was the plan." Hermione said smiling at him.

Draco kissed her lightly and said "You're perfect."

"I am many things, Draco. Perfect is not now, nor will it ever be, one of those things." Hermione said gently.

"To us you are perfect." Blaise said kissing the top of her head.

"We couldn't have dreamed of anyone more perfect than you." Draco said in agreement with Blaise.

"I promise I'm not really that perfect." Hermione said blushing.

"You're really uncomfortable with us telling you how perfect you are." Blaise commented.

"I don't like being put on a pedestal." Hermione told them.

"But that's where you belong." Draco quickly countered.

"No, it's not. I'm no better or worse than the next girl. I make mistakes and I don't always know what to do and I'm not as together as everyone thinks." Hermione said.

"And it's those imperfections that make you perfect." Blaise said.

"That's illogical." Hermione said looking at him quizzically.

"So? A lot of things are illogical. A bunch of Pureblood fanatics religiously following a Half-Blood isn't logical and a lot of people still did it." Draco said quickly.

"I'm not going to win this argument am I?" Hermione asked.

"No, you won't." Draco said smiling at her.

"You put up a valiant effort though." Blaise said with a bit of a laugh.

"The two of you are insufferable." Hermione told them.

"We may be insufferable…"

"…but we're yours." Draco said finishing Blaise's sentence and leaning over to kiss him.

"And I'm yours." Hermione said so softly that they almost didn't hear her.

"Ours." The boys said affectionately in unison smiling down at her as she smiled up at them.

* * *

A/N: I hope y'all like it! Remember to review!


	10. Chapter X

A/N: Sorry for not updating as quickly as normal. School is in full swing! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! Remember to review!

* * *

"Good morning, Hermione." Blaise said when Hermione rushed down the stairs early Saturday morning.

"Hi. I am running so late! I was supposed to get breakfast with Ginny. Can you hook this for me?" She asked as she lifted her hair off the nape of her neck and handed Draco her necklace.

"This is the Slytherin necklace?" He asked as he put the necklace around her neck and clasped it.

"It is. I took one of your ties." She said turning around to face him. "Maybe it was Blaise's? I don't really know. How does it look?"

"It looks beautiful." Draco said kissing her lightly on the lips.

"You look beautiful." Blaise commented and once Draco had released her from his kiss Blaise leaned in to kiss her.

"Thanks guys." Hermione said blushing lightly. "I have to go. I hope your day at the hospital wing goes well, Blaise. Draco, I'll be cheering for you."

"Love you!" the boys called out as Hermione left.

"Is she ever going to say 'I love you' to us?" Draco asked when Hermione had left.

"She may she may not. I think that she's more the type to show us how much she loves us not just tell us. We've made a lot of progress in a very short amount of time. She sleeps in the same bed as us, she kisses us, she doesn't recoil from our touch, and she seems to enjoy being around us." Blaise said smiling at his husband.

"I know that we've come really far but I want to go further. I want more than just kisses and sleeping in bed. I want more." Draco whined.

"Draco, she's giving us all she's comfortable with and that's all we can hope for. Eventually she'll be willing to tell us that she loves us and we'll do more than just sleep in bed but you have to give her time."

"We've given her time! I want her now!" Draco whined again.

"You did not sleep well last night, did you?" Blaise asked with a light smile playing at his lips.

"No, I didn't. I was too nervous. Did I keep you up?" Draco asked his shoulders slumping.

"No, you didn't keep me up. You get really whiney if you don't get enough sleep."

"Sorry." Draco grumbled "I just can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen today. I still haven't gotten a response from Father."

"He's in Azkaban. I was surprised when they let you send the letter so I'm not surprised that they didn't let him send one out. Are you really worried that your father is going to do something from Azkaban?"

"Yes. You don't know how far his reach goes, Blaise." Draco said quietly. "I just don't want anything to happen to you or Hermione."

"Hermione and I will be fine, love. You should probably get down to breakfast, I'm sure that the team wants their captain." Blaise said smiling at him and giving him a peck on the cheek.

"I'm sad that you won't be there."

"I know, but I'll still be cheering for you and Hermione will be there. And she's wearing our colors."

"I'll see you later tonight?" Draco asked. Blaise nodded his head and pulled Draco in for a tender kiss.

"Love you." Blaise called to him as he was leaving their room.

"Love you more." Draco called back before closing the portrait door.

* * *

"Hey, Gin. Sorry I'm late!" Hermione said as she sat down across from her friend.

"It's no problem. I'm sure you had other things to do."

"No, I just slept in a bit. Draco kept me up all night. It was infuriating." Hermione huffed.

Ginny's eyebrows shot up in surprise "_Hermione_! You sly dog you!"

"No, no, no, not with _that_. He kept tossing and turning because of the game today." Hermione said blushing.

"So, still no sex?" Ginny asked bluntly.

"No, no sex. I don't think that I'm ready for that yet."

"Do you love them?" Ginny asked cautiously.

"I don't know. How do you know if you love someone?"

"You just do." Ginny said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes until Hermione said "I think that I'm falling for them."

"What makes you say that?" Ginny asked knowing that Hermione needed to talk this through.

"It's the little things. Like the fact that Draco can't go to bed unless he's had his cup of tea with a splash of cream and two sugars. And how Blaise makes us dinner once a week and we eat it together in our common room. And how disheveled Draco looks in the mornings. I enjoy just sitting with them. We don't even have to be talking just sitting with each other. I like how protective Draco is, which is odd because I didn't think I would like something like that. I like the way Blaise laughs. I really like the fact that Draco makes the bed in the morning. I like being around them so much that I haven't gone to the library in a week! A week! I like how Blaise knows exactly what to say when I'm in a bad mood. I like how Draco lets me cry on him but doesn't judge me for it. I like it when they hug me because it makes me feel safe. I don't know Gin, I just don't know." Hermione finished.

"Would you give your life for theirs?" Ginny asked seriously.

"I don't know. I had never thought about it." Hermione said quietly. After a few moments she spoke again saying "I think that I would. If someone were coming after them I would step in to save them even if it meant my life."

"I don't think that you're fall_ing_ for them. I think that you've already fall_en _for them. I think that you're in love."

"That's scary." Hermione said quietly. "I don't know if I'm okay with that."

"They are great blokes, 'Mione. You could have done a lot worse but I don't think that you could have done any better. They are great for you." Ginny said with a smile.

"They are." Hermione agreed with a smile on her face. The girls fell into conversation about obsolete things before heading to the pitch to watch the match.

* * *

"Mr. Zabini!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed when Blaise walked into the hospital wing. "I am so glad that you came today. I know that it's Draco's first match."

"It's no problem. What do you need my help with?" Blaise asked smiling at the older witch.

"Well, there was an incident in a potions class yesterday and some of the students needed to be kept for observation. Can you check on them for me?"

"Of course." Blaise said as he walked over to the beds that Madam Pomfrey indicated and started work.

* * *

Draco was soaring through the air trying to catch the snitch. He had spotted it just out of reach and urged his broom to go just a hair faster. He felt his hand clasp around the small ball. He felt the flutter of wings on his palm and closed finger. He yelled in joy and raised his arms up in victory. He barely even saw the bludger before it hit him straight in the chest.

* * *

Hermione watched as Draco grabbed the snitch. She celebrated for him for the briefest of moments before she saw the bludger headed straight for him. She called out his name knowing that he wouldn't be able to move in time. She watched in horror as Draco was blown backwards from the force of the hit. She felt a blinding pain and knew that she had to do something. Before she realized what she was doing she felt Blaise's magic run through her and Draco's pain as she took it as her own. She held onto consciousness for long enough to make sure that Draco, who had been falling from a height that would have surely killed him, landed safely on the ground before the world turned black and she collapsed into her seat.

* * *

Draco knew that he should be in more pain than he was. He was barely conscious and it felt as though he was floating on a cloud. He couldn't feel his broom and he wondered what he had done with it. He was gently placed on the ground before his world went black.

* * *

Blaise screamed as pain hit him in the chest. He knew that it was not his own. He staggered as he felt one of his partners draw on his magic. He sank to his knees knowing that something horrible had happened. He closed his eyes saying a little prayer to gods he had never really believed in. He struggled to breath. He faintly heard Madam Pomfrey call his name before he fell out of consciousness.

* * *

When Draco regained consciousness he looked around wildly for Hermione and Blaise. He was in the Hospital Wing.

"Lay back down, Mr. Malfoy." Madam Pomfrey said harshly when Draco tried to sit up to find Hermione and Blaise.

"Hermione? Blaise?" he asked the older witch when she approached him.

"They are here. Blaise regained consciousness just before you did." Madam Pomfrey explained.

"Draco?" Blaise said as he approached the bed that Draco was lying on.

"Blaise!" Draco said making to get up again.

"No, stay lying until Pomfrey tells you otherwise." Blaise said lightly putting his hand on Draco's shoulder and making him lie back. "Dumbledore is going to be over to tell us what happened."

"Hermione?" Draco asked looking up at Blaise as Madam Pomfrey preformed some tests.

"They wouldn't tell me anything until you woke up." Blaise said as he reached out to caress Draco's cheek. "Clean bill of health?" He asked Madam Pomfrey when she was finished running the tests.

"Yes, you are very lucky Mr. Malfoy."

"Poppy, may I talk to them in private?" Albus Dumbledore asked as he approached the bed that Draco was lying on.

"Of course, you may get up now if you wish but take it slow and let me know if you have any pain." She said addressing Draco. When he nodded she took her leave and bustled over to Hermione.

"Mr. Malfoy-" Dumbledore started.

"Please call me Draco. I feel like your addressing Father when you say Mr. Malfoy."

"Right then. Draco, do you remember what happened today on the pitch?"

"Not entirely. I caught the snitch and then I got hit by something. That's where everything gets a bit fuzzy. I remember blinding pain and then there was no pain and I was just floating to the ground." Draco said rubbing his eyes and shaking his head.

"What about you, Blaise?" Dumbledore asked as he looked at Blaise.

"I felt an excruciating pain but it wasn't my own. Then I felt my magic be taken. Then I passed out."

"A very curious event happened here today. Allow me to explain. Draco, you got hit by a rouge bludger. We don't know where it came from but it wasn't from the game. When that happened Hermione seemed to simultaneously take your pain and most of Blaise's magic to save you. She performed quite a bit of wandless magic. It was rather impressive. It's lucky that you all have your rings on for if you didn't I fear that Draco would be dead."

"What did Hermione do?" Draco asked confused.

"When she saw what happened to you she took your pain and then saved you." Blaise explained gently. "She had to use some of my magic to do it."

"Is any of your magic back?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, I'm sure it will come back though."

"It will." Madam Pomfrey said as she approached them. "Miss Granger is just holding it for a while."

"For how long?" Dumbledore asked.

"For as long as it takes her to heal. It could be just a day or it could be a week. None of my spells are working on her."

"What do you mean?" Blaise asked looking at his mentor.

"She has so much magic running through her that none of my spells even touch her. Her magic and your magic are working to heal her. I'm assuming that you're married? All three of you?" When Blaise nodded she continued saying "Consider it a blessing that it's three of you and not just two. If she didn't have your magic to draw on she would have died."

"But now Blaise is going to be weak for a little while?" Draco asked concerned.

"Just until his magic comes back." Madam Pomfrey explained. "It should come back as Miss Granger is done with it."

"She's not a Granger anymore, just call her Hermione. Can I give him some of mine until he gets his back?" Draco asked frustrated.

"No! You can't give him any of your magic and he can't take any of Hermione's pain. If you try to give him some of your magic it will disrupt a very delicate balance that he has with Hermione. All of his magic would rush out of her and into him. Just as if Blaise tries to take any of Hermione's pain it will disrupt the balance that she has with you. All of the pain would go from her to you. It's like a scale, Hermione is very heavy and the both of you very light. If one were to try to change Hermione's status to drastically it would inflict damage onto you."

"So there's nothing that we can do?" Blaise asked.

"No, can either of you tell me about these rings?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Well, we can feel each other's emotions and pain. We can take the pain as our own. When our bond grows stronger there's rumor that we'll be able to read each other's thoughts but I doubt that. It's a strong connection that links us together. Kind of like a binding spell but more intense." Draco explained quickly.

"Can either of you feel her now?" Dumbledore asked quickly.

"Yes and no. Not emotions or anything but I can feel the pain." Blaise said closing his eyes for a moment. "I don't like not wholly feeling her."

"Neither do I." Draco said reaching out to grab Blaise's hand for support. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yes, she needs time to heal but she'll be alright. You all can sit by her bed until visiting hours are over. Now, if you'll excuse me I must go check on her."

"I have a few more questions." Dumbledore said when the boys started to leave. "I promise it won't take long."

"Okay, what questions do you have?" Draco asked as he slumped back down on the bed.

"Do you have any idea who could have done this?"

"Any number of people. Draco and Hermione are both war heroes." Blaise said taking a seat next to Draco.

"But not many people know you're married?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, not many. Mother and Father know, Blaise's Mother know, Harry, Ginny, and Wesley all know. I think that might be all though." Draco said quietly.

"Do any of them have any reason to want to harm you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, I'm sure Father isn't pleased with me marrying someone with what he considers a lesser blood status."

"And there was the stuff with Wesley." Blaise said.

"Ah yes, he attacked you once already did he not?" Dumbledore asked.

"He did." Draco confirmed.

"I don't believe that he's smart enough to do this though." Blaise said quickly. "It takes a lot of dark magic to do something like this doesn't it?"

"Not necessarily. A spare bludger, a few choice spells, and some motivation would do it. I will look into it. Now, why don't you two go and visit your wife. I'll be around if you need anything." Dumbledore said as he made his way to leave the Wing.

Draco and Blaise made their way over to Hermione's bed. They sat on either side of her and grabbed her hands lightly.

"I'm sorry to bother you again but the Headmaster has requested that you make a list of who is allowed to visit."

"Harry Potter and Ginny Wesley and us of course." Blaise said.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, until we know who did this, yes." Draco said a bit harshly.

"Of course. I'll make sure no one else can see her." Madam Pomfrey said before she walked away.

The boys sat in silence until visiting hours were over and they were forced to retire back to their room.

* * *

A/N: Review!


	11. Chapter XI

A/N: I hope y'all like this chapter. Remember to review!

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"Draco, stop. I can't sleep with you moving around like that." Blaise scolded gently at about three o'clock in the morning on Sunday.

"I can't. I can't get comfortable. Even if I could I don't think that I could sleep. She's been in the hospital for over twenty-four hours." Draco said sighing.

"I don't think that I can sleep either." Blaise said quietly.

"What happens if she wakes up and we aren't there?" Draco asked.

"We'll know when she wakes up and we'll go to the Hospital Wing and we'll be there for her."

"What are we going to do?" Draco asked sitting up in bed.

"We can't do anything, Draco. We can't heal her, we can't even go to the Hospital Wing to see her right now, we can't do anything." Blaise said as he sat up and leaned against the headboard of their bed.

"We have to do something. She would do something for us." Draco argued. "Technically I have unrestricted access anywhere in the castle because I'm Head Boy."

"Want to go to the Hospital Wing then?" Blaise asked.

"Yes." Draco said as he got out of bed and got dressed. "Come on!"

"I'll get in trouble. I'm not Head Boy."

"You're with me. It'll be fine." Draco said smiling at him. Blaise smiled at him and got up to get dressed and they left to go to the Hospital Wing and sit with Hermione.

* * *

"Draco?" Harry said shaking the other boy awake.

"What?" Draco asked looking around blearily.

"You and Blaise fell asleep. Ginny and I were just coming to visit Hermione before class."

"It's visiting hours?" Draco asked.

"No but I'm the Boy-Who-Lived to kill Voldemort so I can do what I want." Harry responded with a smirk. "Blaise went to get you a bit to eat and Ginny went to get your bags."

"That was nice." Draco commented.

"Any change?" Harry asked indicating to Hermione.

"No, nothing yet. We're hoping that it wouldn't be long now." Draco said stretching.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you." Harry said kindly.

"Don't pretend to care, Potter. We aren't friends."

"We could be." Harry said. "We could be friends. Or at least friendly towards each other. Hermione and I are close friends so I'm going to be in her life. You're her husband so you're of course going to be in her life. It'll be better for us to get along."

"Whatever you say, Potter. Can I ask you a question?" When Harry nodded Draco continued "Why did you cheat on Ginny?"

"What do you care?" Harry asked.

"Ginny is a nice girl. I think that she's the reason Hermione decided to give Blaise and I a chance. And I'm curious." Draco responded.

"Ginny is amazing, there's no denying that. She just didn't understand some of the things that I struggle with. I couldn't love her in the way that she deserved. I thought that she would get over me faster if she thought that I'm an arsehole. But, I never actually cheated on her. I just told her that I did."

"What?" Draco asked quickly. "You never cheated on her?"

"Nope, I told her that I did through."

"That was dumb. You and Luna got together so quickly after that though."

"We did. Luna just understands me better."

"You're an arsehole."

"I won't deny that." Harry said quickly.

"Maybe we could be friendly." Draco said after a few moments of silence. "I'm impressed by how devious you were."

"I don't think that I'm ever going to lie like that again. Ron won't even look at me."

"Good, he's an arsehole." Draco said smiling at Harry.

"I can't deny that." Harry said. "He was a really-"

"Malfoy, where do you want me to put these?" Ginny asked interrupting Harry as she walked into the Hospital Wing.

"Just give them to me." Draco said standing from his seat and walking towards her.

"I'm surprised that you and Blaise are going to class." Ginny commented when Draco grabbed the bag out of her hands.

"Hermione would kill us if we didn't go to class. Besides, I'm in most of Hermione's classes so I'll be able to get the notes that she'll need. And the classes I don't have with her Blaise does." Draco said quietly.

"Draco, I got you some breakfast." Blaise said walking into the Hospital Wing his arms loaded with food.

"I'll trade you for your book bag." Draco said.

"Deal." Blaise responded smiling at him. "You'll have to eat and walk. We're going to be late."

"We should be off too." Ginny said smiling at the boys.

Draco and Blaise walked over to Hermione's bed and leaned over to kiss her on the top of the head.

"Remember we love you." Draco said quietly.

"Let's go." Blaise said grabbing Draco's hand and holding it tight.

"Just to let you know, people are talking about why Hermione did it. A lot of people are questioning how she did it as well." Ginny said to the boys as they approached her. "Have you thought about how you're going to deal with the questions?"

"Honestly, no. I didn't think that people would be talking this much." Blaise said as the four of them started walking towards their respective classrooms.

"I'm Head Boy and she's Head Girl." Draco said shrugging. "We've gotten close while working and living together."

"Have you thought about telling people?" Harry asked.

"No, we'll only tell people when Hermione is ready to." Blaise said quickly.

"If anyone asks I'll say that I don't know why she did it but I'm grateful that she did." Draco said quietly before he took a bite of his muffin.

"We'll see you both in the Hospital Wing later?" Blaise asked when they were about to head in opposite directions.

"Yes." Both Harry and Ginny responded quickly.

* * *

"Any change?" Blaise asked when he walked into the Hospital Wing and saw Draco sitting next to Hermione.

"Does it look like there's been a change?" Draco snapped harshly.

"No, it doesn't." Blaise said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you." Draco said looking at Blaise. "It was a long day."

"Lots of questions?" Blaise asked pulling up a chair and sitting next to Draco.

"Yes, lots of questions. Lots of stares. Lots of whispers." Draco said exhaustion clear in his voice. "Just lots."

"I'm sorry." Blaise said putting his hand on Draco's back and gently rubbing it.

"It's not your fault." Draco said quickly. "How was your day?"

"Challenging. It's hard to do magic when you don't have magic. All the professors know what's going on but no one in classes did."

"Lots of questions?"

"Not as many as you got but enough." Blaise said quietly.

"Have you gotten any of your magic back?"

"A little bit but not much. I couldn't even levitate a quill if I tried." Blaise said shaking his head.

"It'll come back. Hermione will be fine. She has to be." Draco said quietly looking at Blaise.

"I know, it's just taking longer than I thought it would." Blaise said before leaning in and kissing Draco.

"I just want her back." Draco said after his kiss with Blaise.

"So do I." Blaise said with a sigh. "She'll get better soon. Have you had dinner?"

"No, you?"

"No, I'm going to go down and get some food for us. Will you be okay up here?"

"Of course I will be. If anything goes wrong I have Hermione to protect me." Draco said trying to lighten the mood.

"Good, I'll be back soon." Blaise said standing and taking his leave.

"You need to get better now." Draco said to Hermione once Blaise had left. "Do you hear me? You need to come back to us. We need you."

Draco proceeded to tell Hermione all about his day and the questions that their peers asked that he couldn't answer. He told her about his new almost friendship with Harry and how Ginny had been so kind to both Blaise and himself. He explained how frustrated Blaise was all day because of his lack of magic but didn't blame her.

"She can keep my magic as long as she needs it." Blaise said walking over to Draco with plates of food. "They had your favorite dessert."

"I didn't realize you had come back." Draco said blushing.

"It's fine. I think that it's cute that you're talking to her." Blaise said. "Can you conjure a table for us?"

"Of course." Draco said pulling out his wand and conjuring a table and chairs for them to sit at.

"The two of you can't eat in here." They heard Madam Pomfrey called from her office.

"We don't want to leave her." Blaise called back. "Can you make an exception just this once?"

"For you I will but just this one time." Madam Pomfrey said standing in the doorway to her office. "Have you gotten any of your magic back?"

"Not yet but I will in due time."

"I like your optimism." Madam Pomfrey said smiling at him. "Let me know if you get any of it back or if there seems to be a change in Hermione's condition."

"I will let you know immediately." Blaise responded with a smile. Madam Pomfrey smiled in return and nodded her head at them before taking her leave.

"She seems quite fond of you." Draco commented as they began to eat dinner.

"We work well together. I've learned quite a bit from her." Blaise responded.

Draco smiled at him before asking "What dessert did they have?"

"Chocolate mousse, it's still your favorite, yeah?" Blaise asked.

"Yes, it is. Thank you." Draco said smiling at him.

Draco and Blaise ate their food and talked always glancing at Hermione to make sure that nothing had changed.

* * *

"No change?" Harry asked when he entered the Hospital Wing a week later.

"No change." Draco said putting down his book.

"I brought you a snack. I figured you skipped lunch." Harry said handing Draco a plate of food.

"Thanks." Draco said

"How are you and Blaise holding up?" Harry asked standing at the foot of Hermione's bed.

"It's been hard. Blaise still doesn't have his magic back and Hermione is still here. It's putting a bit of a strain on our relationship." Draco told Harry.

"Do you know who did it?"

"No, Dumbledore hasn't figured it out yet. Blaise and I think that it may have been Wesley."

"It wasn't him. Dumbledore pulled him in for questioning and he was cleared." Harry told Draco.

"DRACO!" Blaise yelled as he ran into the Hospital Wing. "I got my magic back! Hermione must be awake!"

Madame Pomfrey came running out of her office when she heard Blaise and all four of them looked at Hermione expectantly.

"Why isn't anything happening?" Blaise asked.

"Shouldn't she be waking up?" Draco asked angrily.

"Yes, she should be." Madam Pomfrey said gently.

"Why isn't she waking up then?" Draco asked with venom in his voice.

"I haven't the slightest idea. Can you feel her?"

"No," Blaise said concentrating. "I can't even feel the pain that she was in. I don't feel anything."

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A/N: REVIEW!


	12. Chapter XII

A/N: Can you believe that we're already on chapter twelve? Sorry for the late update University is kicking me in the butt right now! I hope that y'all like the chapter. I can't wait to read your reviews!

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"Why can't we feel her?" Draco asked angrily.

"I don't know." Madam Pomfrey said calmly.

"Draco, don't." Blaise cautioned putting his hand on Draco's shoulder. "I might not be able to feel _her_ but I can feel _you_. Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, Blaise. We can't feel her." Draco said with venom in his voice as he shrugged Blaise's hand off his shoulder.

"I know, I'm aware but getting upset isn't going to fix it. Madam Pomfrey, do you have any idea what's going on?" Blaise asked turning his attention over to the old witch.

"No, I don't." She admitted wearily.

"I might have an idea." Harry interjected quietly.

"What is it?" Draco asked looking back at him.

"I was doing some research and I read about something like this happening in the eighteenth century. If a witch or wizard is exceptionally powerful, like Hermione is, they can sever the connection between the rings. It's only for a short amount of time and it's exhausting to do but it can happen."

"Mr. Potter is correct." Professor Dumbledore said. "Good job finding that story, Harry."

"Is that what you think is happening, Albus?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Yes, I believe that Hermione will be a great deal of pain as the last of her healing takes place and she does not want either of you to take any of her pain away. Hermione is easily one of the most powerful witches I've ever met so I am not surprised that she has the power to sever the connection but I feel as if she won't often want to do it."

"What makes you say that?" Blaise asked curiously.

"How does it feel to not feel her?" Dumbledore asked gently.

"It feels like part of who I am is missing. It's just empty." Draco said his eyebrows drawn together.

"When she severs the connection she ceases to feel the both of you as well. So the emptiness that you're describing will be doubled for Hermione because she is losing two connections not just one. Not only that but it takes a huge amount of power to be able to sever a connection like this. It would be physically and mentally exhausting."

"When will she wake up?" Draco asked.

"It shouldn't take any more than twenty-four hours. Even though you made it quite clear that you do not need permission, I am giving you both permission to come and go from the Hospital Wing as you please as long as you don't disturb Madam Pomfrey as she performs her duties."

"What will happen if she doesn't wake up and we still don't feel her?" Blaise asked concerned.

"We will have to deal with that as it happens. It is likely that she will reopen the connection before she wakes up."

"Have you figured out who did this?" Draco asked quickly.

"No, we have ruled out Mr. Wesley but that is the only headway we have made. I am working tirelessly on this, however, and I expect that the perpetrator will soon be apprehended. Harry, I believe that we should give them some time alone with Hermione."

"Right, let me know when she wakes up?" Harry asked. When Draco nodded he turned to Professor Dumbledore and they both left.

* * *

"Harry? Can I talk to you?" Ginny asked tentatively when she found Harry sitting alone in the Common Room.

"Sure, sit down. What's going on?" Harry responded putting down the research he had been working on.

"I think that I'm the reason Hermione got hurt." Ginny said tears welling in her eyes as she sat next to him on the couch.

"What? How?" Harry asked gently putting his hand on her back.

"We went to breakfast earlier that day and she was asking how you know that you love someone. I asked her if she would be willing to risk her life to save theirs because that's what you do if you love someone. That's the length you would go to. I don't think she was really sure about her answer and then she realized that she's in love with them. I think that the reason she did it is because I put the idea in her head that the way to show someone you love them is to put your life on the line for them." Ginny explained, the words falling out of her mouth before she could think about them.

"Did you send the bludger to kill Draco to prove your point?" Harry asked.

"Of course not!" Ginny said indignantly.

"Then it's not your fault. Hermione acted on her own volition. She chose to do this, to save him, and nothing you said or did would have changed what happened." Harry said gently as he rubbed small circles on her back.

"Okay, thanks. Have you heard anything from Malfoy or Zabini? How's Hermione?"

"Not exactly. Blaise got his magic back but they can't feel her anymore. She severed the connection as she needs to finish the healing process. Draco was none too pleased when he couldn't feel her anymore. I asked them to keep me updated as she progresses. It shouldn't be any more than twenty-four hours until she's back."

"You seem to have gotten close to them." Ginny commented cautiously.

"I have. They really are good blokes. A bit hard to deal with at times but still good and they love Hermione so that helps. I think that there is potential for us to actually become close. I'm planning on bringing them dinner later on tonight if you want to join." Harry said shrugging.

"Sure, thanks for this. I should be going now." Ginny said standing.

"You're welcome, anytime you need anything I'll be here for you."

"Thank you." Ginny said before she made her way upstairs to her dormitory.

* * *

"We brought you some food." Ginny said entering the Hospital Wing in front of Harry who was levitating the food behind him.

"You really didn't have to do that." Blaise said quickly. "But we really appreciate that you did."

"We assumed that you wouldn't want to leave Hermione under any circumstances." Harry said shrugging and putting the plates of food on a small table. "We're eating with you because we also assumed that you might want some company."

"Thanks, we ran out of things to talk about twenty minutes ago." Draco said with a light laugh.

"It's no problem. Any change?"

"Not really, we can feel little spurts of her but…" Blaise said trailing off and clenching his jaw.

"We're hoping that she'll wake up soon." Draco said gently putting his hand on Blaise's back in support. "After being able to feel her for so long it's been hard to not have that connection. We'll be fine though, she'll wake up and everything will be fine."

"Except for her panic about missing so much class." Ginny said with a smile.

"We're lucky that we've had each other. I would be a wreck right now if it weren't for Draco." Blaise said softly.

"And I would be a wreck if it weren't for you." Draco responded as he leaned over to kiss Blaise tenderly on the lips.

"What are you smiling at?" Blaise asked when he and Draco broke apart and he looked over at Harry.

"Nothing, it's just the two of you are so in love. I'm not used to seeing that kind of thing."

"What kind of thing? Two blokes kissing?" Draco asked curiously.

"Well, that too but I was more talking about…displays of love?" Harry said choosing his words carefully.

"Don't worry, I didn't grow up with much of that in my family either." Draco said calmly. "Shall we eat?"

"Yes, food is good." Blaise said quickly as they all sat to eat dinner together.

"So, any plans for Halloween?" Blaise said after a few minutes of silence.

"I don't think so." Harry said.

"Unless there's a ball…" Ginny said looking pointedly at Draco.

"What are you looking at me for?" Draco asked concerned.

"You're Head Boy! You and Hermione would be the ones to plan it and such." Ginny said.

"We should have a ball? Do you think that's a good idea?" Draco asked.

"Yes!" Ginny exclaimed. "You should make costumes mandatory as well."

"Alright then, I'll discuss it with Hermione when she gets better." Draco said with a smile.

"Do you want to know what we should do when Hermione gets better?" Ginny asked a while later.

"What?" Blaise asked curiously.

"We should all go out on a triple date."

"You're dating someone?" Blaise asked his eyes light with curiosity.

"Yes," Ginny said blushing.

"Who are you dating?" Draco asked looking at her.

"He's in your house."

"Did Theo finally make a move?" Blaise asked quickly not allowing Ginny to finish.

"Nott?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Ginny said responding to Harry's question. "What do you mean 'finally make a move'?"

"He's had his eye on your for a while now, Ginny. He never went after you though because of Harry." Draco explained.

"Oh, well, we're kind of together now." Ginny said quietly.

"What do you mean kind of?" Blaise asked.

"We've been talking a lot and we like spending time together but he hasn't asked to go out on a date or anything. Besides I never thought that I would be dating a Slytherin. Has he really liked me for a while?"

"Yes, he's liked you for a year or so. I'm sure Hermione never thought that she would be married to two Slytherins but it's mostly worked out so far." Draco said to Ginny.

"It's good you're dating someone, Gin. I'll see if Luna would want to do something." Harry said to them.

"Good, when Hermione gets better I'm sure she'll be excited to get together." Blaise said smiling.

The group fell into silence again as they finished dinner. They pulled up chairs to flank Hermione's bed and sat in silence waiting for a change.

* * *

"We should be off." Ginny said as she yawned around one o'clock in the morning.

"Thank you for sitting with us and bringing us dinner. We'll let you know when there's a change." Blaise said quietly as to not wake Draco.

"Good night." Harry said as he and Ginny took their leave.

An hour later, Blaise stretched lightly in his chair and stifled a yawn. He sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes trying to force himself to stay awake. He inhaled sharply as a wave of emotion hit him.

"Draco," he said nudging Draco in the side, "something is happening! Wake up!"

"What in the world are you on about?" Draco said trying to push Blaise away.

"I think she's waking up." Blaise said his eye alive with joy.

"I think that you're right." Draco said sitting up in his chair and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I…is that her or is that you?"

"Her." Blaise responded quickly his eyes on Hermione. "Unless you're talking about an insane amount of joy and then it's me."

"No, it's not the joy it's…magic?"

"She's coming back, Draco. She's coming back to us." Blaise said practically jumping up and down in his chair in excitement.

"Calm down! We don't want to overwhelm her."

"You won't." Dumbledore's voice said from the doors of the Hospital Wing.

"How do you know?" Draco asked the old man.

"Poppy put a charm on Hermione. If there was any change in her status both Poppy and I would be alerted. I wish she would have waited just a touch longer, I was having a very good dream." Dumbledore said with a wave of his hand.

"No, I meant how do know that we won't overwhelm her?" Draco asked curiously.

"Well, I'm not exactly certain but I feel as if Hermione is not easily overwhelmed." Dumbledore said with a smile and that sparkle in his eyes. "Ah, Poppy so good that you're here!"

"Thank you, Headmaster. I was starting to worry that nothing was going to happen tonight." Madam Pomfrey said as she approached the bed and started working her magic.

"How is she? Is everything okay?" Blaise asked anxiously.

"Yes, she should be waking up any minute now. We just have to wait a touch longer. I don't know how her mental state will be when she wakes or how much pain she may be in so we need to attempt to keep her calm just in case." Madam Pomfrey said as she took a step back.

"We're going to get her back. Blaise, we're getting Hermione back!" Draco said excitedly as all of them looked at the bed Hermione was laying on expectedly.

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A/N: Review, review, review!


	13. Chapter XIII

A/N: Here's the next chapter! I so appreciate all of your reviews. I still don't own anything. Remember to review!

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"What's going on? Why isn't she awake yet?" Draco asked after fifteen minutes of staring at Hermione's bed.

"It's just taking some time." Madam Pomfrey said in response hoping that her voice was not laced with concern.

"Why?" Blaise asked quickly.

"It's been a long time since she was awake. I wouldn't be surprised if her body just needs to catch up with her mind." Dumbledore said gently trying to be the calming force in the room. "She may not realize that any time has passed."

They all continued to look at Hermione, waiting for any change to occur. Gradually Hermione's eyes opened. She looked around and let out a sigh of relief when she saw Draco and Blaise.

"Both of you are okay." Hermione croaked, her throat dry.

"Yes both of us are fine. Have some water." Blaise said approaching the bed and helping her take a drink.

"I'm sorry I took so much of your magic. I didn't know what else to do." Hermione told Blaise after a few moments.

"It's okay, you did an amazing thing." Blaise responded kissing her on the top of the head.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to move." Madam Pomfrey said as she drew her wand and began to run a battery of tests. "May I have a few moments alone with Hermione?"

"Of course." Blaise said with a slight nod of his head. He grabbed Draco's hand and led him away from the hospital bed.

"That means you too, Albus." Madam Pomfrey said quietly.

"Right, I suppose I should be getting back to bed anyway." He responded and he took his leave bidding them all goodbye.

"How do you feel? You're acting very calm. Significantly calmer than I expected." Madam Pomfrey said when she had Hermione alone.

"Good, I guess. My chest is a bit sore but other than that I feel fine."

"Good, good. You have quite a powerful contraception charm in place."

"That was a big change in topic. Um...yes, I have one. You're the one who cast it." Hermione said blushing.

"Well, now that you're married do you want it removed?" Madam Pomfrey asked gently.

"No, I don't see children anytime in the near future. All of us want to have careers and a baby just doesn't fit in with that plan."

"Have you had this conversation with your husbands?"

"No, am I supposed to?" Hermione asked confused.

"Kind of, yes."

"Well, if it comes up and we decide differently I'll come in and have the charm removed." Hermione said with a tone of finality to her voice.

"Okay, good. I'm going to send you home with some pain-relieving-potions. I don't want you to lift anything heavy and I don't want you do to any strenuous activity for about a week. That includes sex!"

"I don't think that will be a problem." Hermione said blushing again.

"Would you like to see your husbands now?" Madam Pomfrey asked kindly.

"Yes, please." Hermione said smiling broadly.

"How do you feel?" Blaise asked when he and Draco arrived at Hermione's bed.

"A bit sore but good. I'm glad to see the both of you." She responded with a smile.

"We've missed you, Hermione." Draco said looking at her with love in his eyes.

"How long was I out?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Almost a week and a half." Blaise said gently pushing a lock of hair out of Hermione's face.

"A week and a half! I missed so much class, how am I going to catch up?" Hermione asked in a panic.

"We took notes for you in the classes we have together and we copied other people's notes for the classes we don't have together. You will have access to notes from Harry and Theo Nott and the Patil twins." Draco explained.

"You don't have anything to worry about when it comes to the classes you've missed." Blaise said to her.

"What do I have to worry about?" Hermione asked quickly. "Tell me everything I missed."

"Well, I've dealt with most of the Heads issues. There were a lot of questions about why you saved me, we didn't know what to say so we just told everyone that you and I had gotten close because we have to work together so much. Ginny suggested that we have a Halloween Ball. I agreed so we need to plan that soon. I think that about covers it." Draco said to her.

"How have the two of you been holding up?" Hermione asked softly.

"We've been good." Blaise said quickly.

"You're not a good liar." Hermione told him gently.

"Honestly, it's been hard not having you around. It was made significantly more difficult when you severed the connection so you could finish healing." Draco said to her.

"We dealt with it as best we could. It's good that Ginny and Harry were here so often, they stopped an awful lot of fights from happening." Blaise said quietly.

"I'm sorry that this was so hard on the two of you. I didn't mean to make your lives more difficult." Hermione said not looking at them.

"Hermione," Draco said putting his hand under her chin so she would look up at them, "you haven't made our lives more difficult. It's because of you that I still have my life. You make our lives better so the thought of not having you was unfathomable."

"Draco is right. Not having you around made us realize how much we need you. It made us both a bit testy. But, you're back now so we don't have anything to worry about." Blaise said smiling at her.

"I'm ready to go home now." Hermione said trying to hide her emotions.

"Okay, I'll go see if Madam Pomfrey is going to release you." Blaise said leaning over to kiss her on the forehead.

"Do we have a theme for this ball?" Hermione asked Draco after Blaise had left.

"Hermione, we have all the time in the world to talk about that. For right now just focus on getting better."

"What do you think I've been doing for the last week and a half? I want to get back to work."

"I know but your health is more important that some ball." Draco explained to her.

"I'm not going to win this argument, am I?" Hermione asked frustrated.

"No, especially because Blaise would agree with me so it would be two against one." Draco said before he leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips.

"Break it up, break it up!" Blaise said when he walked to stand next to Draco with a bag full of stuff. "I got a change of clothes, your potions, and all of the cards and trinkets people left for you."

"When did you get a change of clothes?" Draco asked confused.

"I wasn't sure when Hermione was getting out so I grabbed a change of clothes for her and a duffel and brought it here on the Sunday after the accident." Blaise explained.

"Bloody brilliant." Draco said smiling at him and kissing him on the lips.

"I always was the smarter one." Blaise said smiling at him after their kiss.

"I think that I'm the smartest, actually." Hermione said to both of them with a broad grin across her face. "Can you had me the clothes and turn around?"

"Do we have to turn around?" Draco said in a whiney tone of voice.

"Yes, you have to turn around." Hermione said. She smiled when the boys complied and she quickly got dressed in the clothes that Blaise had handed her. "Okay, I'm decent."

"Good." Blaise said before turning around. "Madam Pomfrey gave me very explicit instructions. You have pain-relieving-potions, ointment for the bruises, and strict orders not to lift anything that weights more than four kilograms."

"Okay." Hermione said nodding.

"Also, if you need help applying the ointment, and you don't feel comfortable coming to one of us, she is more than happy to help. I'm sure that Ginny would be as well." Blaise said to her.

"Right, can we go home now?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, we can go home." Draco said smiling at her and picking up her duffel. When he felt her annoyance at his action he turned to Blaise and said, "This is more than four kilograms, yeah?"

"I think that's about right." Blaise responded smiling at him.

"I'm mad at the two of you." Hermione said in a huff. "I am perfectly capable of carrying a duffel."

"Not right now you're not. Madam Pomfrey would have my hide if she saw you carrying that." Blaise said as he reached out to grab her hand.

"Fine." Hermione said with an eye roll.

"Fine." Blaise said with a bit of a chuckle. He leaned down to kiss her tenderly on the lips before they bid Madam Pomfrey goodnight and made their way home.

* * *

The next day was a whirlwind. She, Draco, and Blaise had arrived home at about four in the morning and were excused from all of their classes that day. This did not sit well with Hermione, who ended up going anyway. She deeply regretted that choice at about lunch time when she couldn't stifle her yawns and she was in a large amount of pain from carrying her bag around.

"I thought that Blaise said that you were supposed to be resting today?" Harry asked when he sat down with her at lunch.

"I was but I couldn't miss another day of classes. I'm already so behind now."

"Hermione, go home. You look exhausted." Harry said gently looking critically at Hermione.

"I just have two more classes." Hermione said looking at him with big eyes.

"Fine, at least let me carry your bag." Harry said with a sigh knowing that nothing short of a coma would stop Hermione from getting to class.

"Okay, you can carry my bag." Hermione said smiling brightly at him.

"Don't look now but your husbands have just arrived and they don't look too pleased with you." Ginny said as she slid in next to Harry facing the Slytherin table.

"I know, I can feel them." Hermione said to the younger girl.

"How mad are they?" Harry asked with a grin.

"They aren't. It's more annoyance and a lot of concern." Hermione said to Harry. She quickly tried to hide the pain she was feeling by masking it with other emotions.

"Don't you have class with them next?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Yes, I'm sure I'm going to get an earful tonight as well." Hermione said with a laugh.

"How has the sex been?" Ginny asked when Harry had turned to have a conversation with Seamus.

"Ginny!"

"What? I'm curious!" Ginny told the older witch with a smile.

"It hasn't been." Hermione confided in her friend.

"Really?" Ginny asked in shock.

"Yes, really. When I'm ready it'll happen but I don't think I'm ready for that step yet." Hermione said quietly.

"Aren't you at least curious?" Ginny asked.

"Of course I am. It's just that they _know_ each other already and I don't. Well, at least not that I remember...there was our wedding night." Hermione said blushing.

"I've heard rumors that wealthy Pureblood families sometimes hire women of the night to teach their sons how to please a woman."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? If it is it didn't work." Hermione said coldly.

"It wasn't meant to make you feel better or worse. I'm just saying, it's probably going to be really good sex. You'll learn about what they like soon enough; you've always liked learning." Ginny said with a smirk.

"I have always enjoyed learning. I don't know if I'll enjoy learning about this though. I think it's going to be awkward." Hermione said blushing deeply.

"It very well might be but, it's also going to be very fun." Ginny said smirking.

"Whatever you say, Gin. Enough about me, how are you? What's going on in your life?"

"I've got a boyfriend." Ginny said excitedly.

"Really? Who?"

"Theo Nott, he's really good for me. I really like him, Hermione. I like him a lot. And he likes me too! He likes me back." Ginny said with a flourish.

"That's wonderful!"

"He's really good friends with your husbands. Speaking of the devils, they are making their way over here."

At that Hermione turned around to see that Draco and Blaise were almost at their table and they were holding hands. Jealousy flared in Hermione at the sight of their clasped hands. Draco caught her eye and they held eye contact until he and Blaise were standing next to her.

"Can we talk?" Draco asked quietly.

"Of course! I'll see you later?" She asked Ginny who nodded in response.

"I'll get your bag." Draco told her snatching her bag right out of her hands.

She followed them out of the Great Hall, her short legs struggling to keep up with their long strides.

"Can the two of you slow down?" Hermione asked quickly.

"What were you thinking?" Draco asked harshly turning around to face her. His eyes burning with anger.

Hermione cowered back unaccustomed to the anger radiating off of him. "I couldn't miss another class."

"You bloody well could have! We could have gotten you the notes!" Draco said his anger in full force. Hermione flinched at his harsh tone and the intensity of his anger which she could feel.

"I'm sorry?" Hermione said with tears in her eyes at a loss for words.

"Don't, just don't. I can't do this right now." Draco said thrusting her bag at Blaise before he turned on his heel and left in a huff.

Hermione's face fell and the tears started spilling out of her eyes. She felt Blaise usher her into an unused classroom.

"Hey, stop crying." Blaise said as he sat down and gathered her into his arms.

"He hates me." Hermione said through her tears as she curled onto Blaise's lap and put her head on his shoulder.

"No, he doesn't. Draco just has a hard time expressing himself sometimes. He's just worried about you." Blaise said gently.

"That's not the way normal people express concern." Hermione said through her tears.

"I never said Draco was normal." Blaise said with a laugh.

Hermione laughed through her tears and looked up at him. She sniffled and wiped her eyes as she continued to laugh. "You're good at this comforting thing, you know?"

"I know." Blaise said smiling and cupping her cheek in his hand.

Hermione smiled back at him and leaned into kiss him tentatively on the lips. She moaned lightly when he deepened the kiss. Blaise pulled away after a while and Hermione pouted when he did.

"Don't pout like that. We have to get to class, we have three minutes to get to class." He said looking at his watch.

"Do we have to?" Hermione asked still pouting.

"Yes, we have to. I brought you a pain-relieving-potion. You should take it now and let me take your bag for you." Blaise said smiling at her.

"Thank you for cheering me up and for bringing me a potion and for taking my bag and for being you." Hermione said awkwardly.

"You're welcome. Now, get off of me so we can get to class."

"Fine." Hermione said rolling her eyes and leaning down to kiss him again quickly.

* * *

A/N: Review! Review! Review!


	14. Chapter XIV

A/N: Sorry I suck and it took me this long to update! I decided to make this chapter a bit longer because it took so long for me to update. I am so happy that all of you are loving this story so much. I love the reviews y'all are leaving me! They really motivate me to write faster and update quicker!

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"Draco!" Blaise called entering their dormitory and immediately making his way to the kitchen, rummaging in his bag. "Hermione went to go get notes from one of the Patil twins. Remember she told us she would be doing that after dinner? I know you worry! Can you believe that the notes we took for her weren't good enough? Draco?"

Blaise walked out of the kitchen and saw that Draco was passed out on the couch an empty bottle of Firewhiskey on the ground next to him. Blaise sighed and shook his head, running his fingers through his hair.

"Draco, Blaise!" Hermione called as she walked through the portrait hole.

"Hey, love." Blaise said meeting her at the door. "Draco isn't feeling well. I was thinking that you and I could go for a walk?"

"Shouldn't we stay and take care of Draco?" Hermione asked confused.

"Draco doesn't really like people seeing him sick." Blaise explained.

"Oh, okay. Where do you want to walk to?"

"I was thinking of taking a walk around the lake." Blaise said wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Perfect. Do you think that I need a warmer jacket? Is it going to get cold?" Hermione asked smiling at him.

"I don't think so." Blaise said dropping his arms and grabbing her bag to put it down on the floor. "Let's go!"

Hermione giggled at his enthusiasm and turned around to face the portrait. Blaise put his hand on the small of her back and lead her out of the room. They talked and laughed as they walked down the corridors. When they got outside he grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers. She turned her head and smiled brightly at him as they walked hand in hand towards the lake.

"Did you go to see Madam Pomfrey today? It's been almost a week since you were released so you should have gone back today."

"I did go to see her today. Everything is fine and I'm all healed up. She gave me a clean bill of health even though I went in two days early." Hermione said smiling at him.

"It's always easier to go in on a Friday. I'm glad that you're alright." Blaise said leaning down to kiss her on the lips. After a few moments he released her from the kiss.

"I feel a lot better. I have a question for you."

"What's that?" Blaise asked squeezing her hand a bit.

"I was talking to Ginny and she told me that wealthy Pureblood families will…buy women of the night to educate the young men of the family?" Hermione asked awkwardly.

"That's true." Blaise said gently.

"So, you and Draco both had one?"

"Yes, he had his for about eight months and I had mine for a year."

"Why?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Why, what? Why hire a prostitute?" Blaise asked, when Hermione nodded he said, "Well, we had to learn how to pleasure a woman somehow, right? This is just how it works."

"I never learned _things_." Hermione said blushing and looking away from him.

"You have us to teach you. It's nothing to be worried about, Hermione. And not being experienced is nothing to be ashamed about. I think that I actually like you more because of it."

"Thanks for answering my question."

"You're welcome. Feel more comfortable about sex now?" Blaise asked hopefully.

"No, but when I do you and Draco will be the first to know." Hermione said coyly. "Speaking of Draco, do you know what's wrong with him? Why is he sick?"

"He just wasn't feeling well." Blaise said to her quickly.

"You still aren't a good liar, Blaise. What's really going on?" Hermione asked squeezing his hand gently.

Blaise took a deep breath before saying, "Draco…sometimes after coming home from a stressful day Draco would have a glass of firewhiskey. When he became a spy on Voldemort in the war sometimes one glass turned into three fourths of a bottle. It wasn't often that he got out of hand but when he did it was scary. He gets mean when he's drunk, just like he gets mean when he loses a game of Quidditch. It never got too bad and he never relied on it to get through the day or anything…it's just to take the edge off."

"He's an alcoholic?" Hermione asked gently.

"No, he's not. He didn't rely on the alcohol to get through the day. He was just trying to find a way to deal with stress. Eventually he found a better and safer way."

"What did he do? What does he do?" Hermione asked curiously.

"He flies." Blaise said with a chuckle. "He just gets on his broom and takes a few laps and he comes home and is all smiles and happy."

"So, he's back to drinking and not flying?" Hermione asked concerned.

"I think that it was just tonight. There was an empty bottle of firewhiskey and he was passed out on the couch." Blaise said quietly.

"Any idea why?" Hermione asked quickly.

"No, you being in the hospital was hard on him and we were fighting a lot. We don't know who did it yet either, so that doesn't help. His father finally responded to his letter too, so there's that." Blaise said with a sigh.

"His father?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Yes, Draco owl'd him about our marriage."

"What did Lucius say in response?"

"He wasn't pleased. Draco didn't let me read the letter but I'm sure it wasn't good." Blaise responded.

"We should go home. Draco needs us." Hermione said after a few minutes of silence.

"Do you have a plan?" Blaise asked.

"No, do we need one?"

"Yes, we need one. Sometimes Draco gets angry when he's been drinking." Blaise said looking her in the eye for the first time since starting the conversation.

"Will this be a problem?" Hermione asked seriously.

"I don't think that it's going to be a problem but, if it turns into a problem, I think that he'll stop for you. Maybe if we were to talk to him about it he just wouldn't do it." Blaise said shrugging.

"Like an intervention? Are you sure he's not an alcoholic?"

"No not like an intervention. I know him and he's not an alcoholic." Blaise said.

"Okay, I have a plan." Hermione said nodding "Let's go home and help our husband."

Blaise smiled down at her and drew her in for a kiss before they headed back to the castle to help Draco. When they got back to their room Hermione saw that Draco was, indeed, passed out on their couch with an empty bottle of firewhiskey on the floor next to him. She sighed deeply and gazed at him trying to figure out the best way to rouse him from his alcohol induced slumber. She drew her wand and cast a quick charm that caused water to splash on his face.

"What in the bloody hell did you do that for!?" Draco bellowed getting up off the couch quickly.

"You were passed out, I was worried." Hermione said innocently.

"If you ever do something like that again, so help me God, I will not react kindly." Draco said with venom in his voice as he stalked closer to her.

"Oh, really?" Hermione said putting her arms across her chest and standing her ground. "What is it you're going to do, Draco? Hate me for the rest of forever? Make my life hell?"

"I can do a whole lot of damage in a very short amount of time." He said unfazed by the look of hurt on her face caused by his harsh words.

"Don't get angry with me." Hermione said with a forceful tone of voice. "I was just worried about you."

"Go to hell, Granger."

"I'm not a Granger anymore, remember? Now, I'm a Malfoy-Zabini. And if I do go to hell at least I'll have you for company."

"I wouldn't be much company for you. You don't even _like_ me." Draco said with venom in his voice.

"Is that what this is about?" Hermione asked gesturing towards the empty bottle on the floor.

"Don't pretend like you care about me and my problems because you clearly don't. Just leave me alone." Draco said in a dangerously low tone of voice.

"You don't scare me, Draco. You're problems won't scare me away and-"

"I don't care if you're scared away by my problems. I don't care about you at all. I couldn't care less." Draco said hatefully.

"Really? Is that why you were at the Hospital Wing every day? Is that why you say 'love you' every morning? Is that why every time you look at me I can feel all the good emotions you're feeling? Is that why you married me? Because you couldn't care less?" Hermione asked looking him in the eye.

"Why do you care?" Draco asked.

"Because I love you, you brainless moron! I saved your life! I risked my life to save yours!" Hermione all but yelled.

"Oh, great! Here we go! A fucking guilt trip from the perfect Hermione Granger! I saved your life. I saved the wizarding world. Look at me! I didn't ask you to save me! You didn't have to feel obligated to do anything to help me." Draco said with venom in his voice, breathing hard.

"You didn't have to ask for me to save you! I wanted to! I wanted to save you and I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, because that's what you do, isn't it? You save people from misfortune. You don't even have to care about someone to save them, you just bloody do it!" Draco yelled.

"I have to care about someone a whole hell of a lot to save them, Draco! Which means that, despite what you've been saying, I care a whole hell of a lot about you!" Hermione said dropping her arms and drawing herself up to stand as tall as she could.

"You care about me? Really? Is that why you never say 'love you, too'?" Draco asked looking down at her.

"I wasn't aware that I needed to tell you that _I love you_! I didn't know that you needed that!" Hermione yelled.

"I don't need you to just say it! I need you to say it and _mean it_." Draco said with a quiet but dangerous tone to his voice.

"You don't think that I mean it? Are you kidding? I wouldn't bloody well say it if I didn't mean it!"

"But you haven't said it!" Draco yelled. "You hadn't said it until now. Until I practically forced you to."

"Well, I'm sorry that this didn't go as planned for you!" Hermione said quickly.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sorry that I didn't just fall in love with you! I'm sorry that it took some time for me to fall totally and completely in love with you and Blaise. Sorry I didn't fit in as nicely as you had hoped." Hermione said looking away from him to hide the tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry that I didn't realize how much you love us." Draco said softly after a few long moments of silence. "I have something to show the both of you."

"What?" Hermione asked with her eyes still downcast.

"Here." Draco said pulling a piece of parchment out of his pocket.

"What is it?" Blaise asked timidly as he approached the place where Hermione and Draco stood.

"Father's response."

"Are you sure you want us to read this, Draco? Isn't it kind of personal?" Blaise asked quietly his eyes bouncing between Draco's face and the piece of parchment in his hand.

"I need you to read it." Draco said handing Blaise the letter before walking to sit down on the couch.

Hermione looked up at Blaise and shrugged slightly. Blaise pulled the letter open and they both began to read its content to themselves. Hermione was done first and didn't say anything but continued to shake her head.

"I'm not just some boyhood tryst!" Blaise said offended.

"At least you weren't accused of going after his money and wanting to spoil his perfect bloodline!" Hermione said quickly.

"I think that I would be scared shitless if he wasn't in Azkaban." Draco confessed quietly from his spot on the couch.

"Is this why you were drinking so much?" Blaise asked.

"Drinking?" Draco asked confused.

"There's an empty bottle of firewhiskey and you were passed out on the couch. You did argue very well for someone who's shitty wasted." Hermione said gently.

"I didn't drink that entire bottle just now." Draco said with a laugh. "I had the last bit at the end of the bottle. It was enough for one drink."

"Then why couldn't I wake you up earlier?" Blaise asked.

"I haven't been sleeping particularly well so I took some dreamless sleep after my drink. The affects happened faster than I thought they would and I knew that I couldn't make it upstairs in time so I fell asleep on the couch. Did you really think that I drank that much?"

"Yes." Blaise confessed quietly.

"I stopped binge drinking a long time ago." Draco said with a small smile. "I don't know if I am flattered or offended that you think that I can argue that well while drunk."

They were all silent for a while, each pondering the argument and its implications for their relationship.

"Now what?" Hermione asked rubbing her eyes and stretching her neck.

"Well, now that we've determined that you love Blaise and me, I think that we should have sex and call it a day." Draco said quickly with a smirk on his face.

"No, I think I'm good." Hermione said blushing. "This has been a rather exhausting day though. I think that I'm going to go take a nice, long, hot shower and relax."

"Whatever you need, Hermione." Draco said.

"Thanks." Hermione said as she started to make her way towards the stairs.

"Love you!" Draco called after her when she was almost halfway up the stairs.

"Love you, Draco! Love you, Blaise!" Hermione called back before getting to the top of the staircase and heading into their bedroom which lead to their bathroom.

"She said love you!" Draco exclaimed happily.

"That she did." Blaise responded with a small chuckle at his husband's enthusiasm.

"Do you want to go cuddle? It's been a long day." Draco asked smiling at Blaise.

"I like cuddling but it can't lead to anything else. You know that-"

"You're not comfortable doing anything with me but not Hermione? Yes I know that. It's rather frustrating." Draco said pouting slightly.

"Oh, stop pouting like that! Are we going to cuddle or not?" Blaise asked walking over to him and extending his hand.

"She knows about the prostitutes by the way." Blaise commented when they had gotten settled in bed.

"How does she know? How do you know that she knows?"

"Ginny told her and she asked me about it. She seems very curious about sex. I think she may be insecure though." Blaise confessed.

"Insecure?" Draco questioned as he started to rub circles on Blaise's back.

"Yeah, we have a lot of experience and she doesn't really have any. We were taught all the things about sex and how to please a woman and each other. She's kind of like the new kid in school who's a couple of years behind but is expected to do all the same work." Blaise said snuggling closer to Draco, using his shoulder as a pillow.

"Eventually she'll learn, she'll just have to trust us enough to teach her. Do you think that she's curious enough to want to try things soon?" Draco asked with a mix of curiosity and hope in his voice.

"Maybe. She's going to want to start small though. I feel like she's not the type to just go for the sex without doing other things first." Blaise commented.

"Well, as long as it happens soon I'm fine with anything we do. I think that we should stop talking about it now though."

"Why?"

"Thinking of you and Hermione and sexual things is turning me on and I know that we can't do anything about it and I don't want to go all the way downstairs just to see myself off." Draco said nonchalantly.

"Good point, we'll stop discussing it. I do agree with you though, I hope it happens soon." Blaise said taking a deep breath.

Half-an-hour later Draco and Blaise were still cuddled up together in their bed. When Hermione had gotten dressed from her shower she stepped out of the bathroom and saw them.

"I wanna cuddle!" She said pouting.

"The two of you are so similar it makes me sick." Blaise said laughing at the expression on Hermione's face.

"That wasn't polite." Draco scoffed. "You can't come to bed with wet hair like that. Don't you normally dry it?"

"Yeah, but it always gets so frizzy when I do a drying spell. Most of the time I just let it air-dry in the mornings." Hermione said shrugging.

"Here, let me try something." Draco said detangling himself from Blaise so he could stand and get his wand. Hermione stood still as Draco approached her and murmured a few words under his breath. When he was done he said, "There, no frizz."

Hermione quickly darted into the bathroom to see his handiwork. "How did you do that?" She asked when she emerged again.

"You don't live with Narcissa Malfoy your entire life and not pick up a trick or two." Draco said with a laugh as he got back into bed. "Now, are you coming to cuddle or no?"

Hermione smiled at them and crawled up the middle of the bed so she was situated between the two of them.

"You know that you could have just asked one of us to move, right?" Blaise asked looking down at her.

"You both looked so comfortable though." Hermione said as she stretched and snuggled close to Draco. She sighed with content as she felt Blaise settle in close to her.

"You look tired." Draco commented as he started to play with a lock of her hair, twirling it between his fingers and tickling Blaise every time it grazed his chest.

"It was a long day." Hermione said sighing. "Classes, going to the Hospital Wing, trying to find notes, thinking you were a drunk, getting into an argument, saying I love you and meaning it. All very exhausting activities."

"You went to the Hospital Wing?" Draco asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's been almost a week since I was released so I went to make sure everything was okay. I can officially carry my own bag now!" Hermione said cheerfully.

"Took you bloody long enough to get better." Draco said his voice harsh but his face and emotions relieved.

They talked and laughed late into the night before all three of them fell into a blissful sleep.

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A/N: Review, review, review!


	15. Chapter XV

A/N: I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update! It's been a hectic month for me. I promise that I'll do better next time! Remember to review :)

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"Good morning." Hermione said the next day when she woke up.

"Good morning, love." Draco responded kissing the top of her head.

"Where's Blaise?" Hermione asked as she snuggled closer to Draco.

"He's in the loo."

"Well, he should hurry up. I want to brush my teeth." Hermione said quietly looking up at him.

"This isn't exactly something he can rush through." Draco said with a laugh.

"How long can it take him to use to loo?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Hermione, Blaise is a bloke."

"I'm aware. What's that got to do with anything?" Hermione asked getting frustrated.

"In the morning after sleeping very close to a beautiful women who has her arse pushed into you…" Draco trailed off hoping that Hermione was able to draw her own conclusions.

"I don't understand." Hermione said quietly her forehead creased in concentration.

"Blimey, you are innocent. He has a boner from sleeping so close to you."

Hermione blushed and put a hand over her face so Draco couldn't see. She separated her fingers to look at him. "It's my fault?"

"Most likely, yeah. He, like most blokes, has fantasies that he wants turned into reality and he dreams about them. And then he wakes up and you're here and I'm here and he needs to go take care of it. It's not as bad when there isn't someone sleeping in the bed with you."

Hermione shifted so her torso was almost completely laying on his. She looked deep in his eyes and asked, "Do you have one?"

"A boner? Yes, I do." Draco said calmly.

"If I'm supposed to feel everything you feel, emotionally and such, then why don't I feel anything? You made it sound like this happens every morning." Hermione said quietly.

"It does happen most every morning. We've found ways of blocking it from you. Blaise and I agreed that it might make you uncomfortable to feel…waves of pleasure every morning." Draco said shrugging.

"Before I was here…what did you _do_ about it? You know, together?" Hermione asked not breaking eye contact but blushing profusely.

"It depends on the day of the week and what we're feeling. Do you want us to teach you?" Draco asked his eyes stormy with lust.

"No, I'm going to go make breakfast." Hermione said quickly as she rolled out of bed. "Eggs, bacon, and toast?"

"I like my eggs-"

"Over hard, extra hard, not runny in the middle. I know." Hermione said smiling at him as she pulled her hair up in a ponytail.

"You are an amazing woman." Draco said smiling big at her. Hermione just rolled her eyes and made her way downstairs.

* * *

"We need to figure out decorations and such for this ball. It's only two weeks away!" Hermione said after breakfast was over and the kitchen had been cleaned. "Everyone knows that it's a costume ball. Some people have ordered their costumes by post others will need to go down to Hogsmede to buy one. We should organize a Hogsmede weekend."

"Hermione, we don't need to organize one. Students can go on their own freewill if they are third year or older." Draco said as he plopped himself down on the couch.

"But what about the younger students?"

"You really want first years at this ball?" Blaise asked smiling at her as he handed her another plate to dry.

"It would be rude to exclude them." Hermione huffed.

"No, it really wouldn't. Why are the two of you doing it that way? There's a rather easy spell that will do all of that for you." Draco said in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Hermione and I like doing it this way. It's rather relaxing." Blaise countered quickly.

"We still need decorations and food and music and chaperones and I still think that the younger students should be included." Hermione said quickly.

"Flitwick and McGonagall are already doing decorations, the house elves are making the food, the heads of the houses are chaperoning, and the younger students shouldn't be allowed to come."

"How is all of that already done?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"When you were healing I asked around to see what we could and couldn't do for the ball and before I knew it all of that had been done." Draco said smiling at her.

"What kind of decorations? What kind of food? Are we just going to have four chaperones? Why can't the younger students come? What kind of music are we playing?" Hermione demanded.

"Candles, streamers, a stage, carved pumpkins, and whatever else your heart desires. The house elves are making a variety of sweets and candies. We can have more than four chaperones if you want more than that but we'll need to figure out who. Younger students are annoying and I don't like them, that's why they can't come. Music is up to you, the Wicked Sisters said that they would be glad to come or we can get one of those deejays. Anymore questions?" Draco replied smiling at Hermione.

"You aren't very nice." Hermione joked.

"Excuse me, I am very nice." Draco said pretending to be hurt by her comment.

"Oh, yeah, very nice. I don't like younger students so they can't come." Hermione teased.

"He does kind of have a point though. They are annoying and a lot of them don't understand some of the social norms here and many of the older students are annoyed by them as well." Blaise retorted.

"I just feel bad excluding them." Hermione said quietly. "I know that if I was a younger student and I couldn't go to the ball I would be offended."

"It will give them something to look forward to when they get old like us." Draco responded.

"I am not old." Blaise scoffed.

"Older. Better?" Draco asked.

"Good to know it's all been planned without me." Hermione grumbled.

"It hasn't all been planned. We still need music and we still need to figure out our costumes." Draco insisted.

"How long is this ball going to be?" Hermione asked.

"Eight 'til midnight, I think." Draco responded.

"A deejay then. As for costumes, I'm going as a muggle." Hermione said.

"That's not very original." Blaise teased.

"I wasn't aware that it had to be original." Hermione retorted. "Besides, I already have the outfit to be a muggle, it's just easier than going out and buying a costume."

"How would you react if we told you that we already had a costume for you?" Draco asked.

"It depends, what did you get me?" Hermione asked as she put the last of the dishes away.

"We'll show you." Draco said getting up and walking over to her. "It's upstairs."

Hermione sighed before saying, "Fine, let me see it."

Draco and Blaise both smiled at her. Draco grabbed her hand and led her upstairs with Blaise following them. They stopped right in front of the closet that Draco had claimed as his own and Blaise put his hands over Hermione's eyes.

"I don't like not being able to see." Hermione huffed.

"You're fine, we aren't going to hurt you." Blaise said before peppering kisses on her neck.

"Just let me see the costume." Hermione implored.

"If you insist." Blaise said dropping his hands and taking a step back.

"We figured that you should go as the Gryffindor princess you truly are." Draco said when the costume was revealed.

"Wow, it's stunning." Hermione said as she ran her fingers over the fabric. It was a deep red ball gown with gold embellishments. "I can't accept this."

"If you don't like it we can get you something else. We just thought that you would like it." Blaise said quietly, sounding disappointed.

"Oh, no, sweetie, it's not that I don't like the dress. It is stunning. It's just that I can't accept a gift like this. It's too much." Hermione said turning around to look at him.

"Too much?" Draco asked cautiously.

"Yes, too much money, too much thought, just too much. I don't like getting presents." Hermione tried to explain.

"You don't like getting presents?" Blaise asked as he moved to stand next to Draco.

"No."

"Why?" Blaise asked curiously.

"I don't know… it's just that I always feel like I have to reciprocate the gift and I'm not good at buying presents. And presents cost money, in this case a lot of money." Hermione said looking up at them, a slight blush rising on her cheeks.

"You can't be bad at giving presents." Draco said. "You're good at everything, it's one of the things that we love about you."

"I am bad at giving gifts. They are always too practical. I gave Harry a broom cleaning kit for three Christmases in a row. I got Ginny a spelbook about glamor charms. I gave Arthur a rubber ducky and a book on the history and functions of it. I've never gotten anyone something that wasn't practical and I've certainly never gotten someone anything as expensive as this dress."

"Hermione, is this about money? Blaise and I have more than enough of that so you shouldn't concern yourself with it." Draco said as he cocked his head to the side.

"This is just too extravagant. How am I going to repay you?" Hermione said looking down.

"You don't have to repay us. This is just one of the ways that we can show you how much we love you. We like getting presents for the people we love. If we're shopping and we see something that makes us think of you we're going to get it. And Draco is right, you needn't concern yourself with the money. What's ours is yours and we have a lot." Blaise explained gently as he put his hand under her chin to make her look up at them again.

"Well, then, thank you for the gift. Did you know that Godric Gryffindor's wife had a very similar dress?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, this is an exact replica of it. We figured you would appreciate that." Draco said chuckling.

Hermione quickly threw her arms around her husbands and squeezed them tight. Draco and Blaise returned her hug and kissed her on the top of the head.

"I love you." Hermione said her voice slightly muffled by their bodies.

"Love you, too." Draco and Blaise responded in unison.

* * *

"Hermione, what's your relationship with Krum?" Draco asked as the three of them were sitting in their common room a week before the Halloween ball.

"What?" Hermione asked taken aback by the question.

"You and Krum dated, right?" He asked.

"Yes." Hermione said uncomfortably. "Why are you so interested?"

"Well, since Father is in jail I've been running Malfoy Enterprises and Krum is a business partner. He owl'd me and wanted to know if we could have a business dinner. He invited you." Draco explained.

"Why did he invite me?" Hermione asked inquisitively.

"Somehow he knew that you're Head Girl and invited you because of your association with me, in regards to our positions of course. He also invited Blaise because of our relationship." Draco said. "So, do you want to go?"

"I think that I have something to do that night." Hermione said trying to make up an excuse to not go to dinner.

"Hermione, I never told you when he wanted to go." Draco said in an almost accusatory tone of voice.

"Right…well, I'm sure that I'll be busy." Hermione said lamely.

"If you don't want to go you don't have to. Just tell me that you don't want to go, there's no need to lie." Draco said gently.

"My relationship with him wasn't. . . never mind it's not important. Do you want me there? Is it important that I go?" Hermione asked trying to squash the anxiety rising in her chest.

"Of course I want you there! He did ask for you to be there so I guess it's kind of important to him." Draco said giving her a strange look.

"Okay, I'll try to make myself available. What day is this happening?" Hermione questioned.

"Two days after the ball. If you don't want to go you don't have to. I can tell him that you have something important going on." Draco said confused by the way Hermione was behaving.

"Its fine, you said that it was important so I'll be there for you." Hermione said gently. "I'm going to go upstairs and lay down. I'm not feeling well."

"Do you need anything? What's wrong?" Blaise asked concerned about Hermione's health.

"I'll be fine. It's just a bit of a headache and an upset stomach. I'm sure that I'll feel better after a bit of a nap." Hermione said touched by Blaise's evident concern.

"Okay, if you need anything just let us know." Blaise said to Hermione's retreating form as he and Draco watched her make her way upstairs to their room.

When they heard the bedroom door close Draco tentatively asked, "What in the world was that about? She was very uncomfortable, right? I wasn't imagining that?"

"She did seem to not want to have much interaction with Krum. Do you know anything about their relationship?" Blaise asked.

"No, I know that they dated but I don't know for how long or why they broke up. Maybe the Wesley girl will know?" Draco asked before turning his attention back to the book he was reading.

"She has a name, it's Ginny. I suppose we can ask her tomorrow. What are we going to do if something bad happened between the two of them?" Blaise asked genuinely concerned.

"We'll deal with it, just like we've dealt with everything else. We'll go to Ginny tomorrow and see what she knows." Draco said gently taking Blaise's hand into his own and giving it a squeeze. Blaise let go of a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and went back to reading, content with just sitting with Draco.

* * *

A/N: Remember to review!


	16. Chapter XVI

A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to put this up, real life has been hectic lately (I made this chapter extra long to make up for it). I hope that you all like this chapter. I have loved all of your reviews and follows and such. All of your positive feedback has encouraged me to work my hardest on this fic. Remember to review!

* * *

"Ginny!" Blaise called out when he and Draco spotted Ginny walking down the corridor the next day. Ginny turned around and raised her eyebrow which prompted Blaise to say, "We need to talk to you about something. Do you have a minute?"

"Sure," Ginny said confusion lacing her voice, "what do you need to talk about?"

"This is a conversation to be had in private." Draco said giving her a pointed look, hoping that she would understand that they wanted to talk about Hermione. "There's an empty classroom down the hall a bit. Maybe we could talk in there?"

"Yes, of course." Ginny said worried about what they could possibly want to talk about. She walked in stride with them and thanked Blaise quietly when he held open the door for her. "What's this about?"

"You and Hermione are close, right? Best friend close?" Blaise asked quickly.

"Yes." Ginny said cautiously.

"She tells you everything?" Draco asked. When Ginny nodded her head Draco continued, "What do you know of her relationship with Krum?"

"In what regard?" Ginny asked, not wanted to betray Hermione's trust and tell them something she wouldn't want them to know.

"How long did they date? Why did they break up? Is she still in contact with him?" Blaise asked quickly.

"I don't really know much about their relationship…they dated from her fourth year to her sixth, so for about two years. I don't think that she's in contact with him. I'm not really sure why they broke up, I know that the war probably had something to do with it, she was different when she was with him." Ginny said being as honest as she could be with the two boys who she had started to consider friends.

"What do you mean? How was she different when she was with him?" Blaise asked confused.

"I don't know, she was just different. She was quiet and reserved. He was definitely the dominant person in that relationship which was strange. Sometimes, when they didn't think that anyone was listening, Krum would scream at her about one thing or another. She never really talked back or tried to defend herself so just sat there and listened to him."

"Hermione Granger didn't defend herself? That seems wrong somehow." Draco said with a snort.

"She did once but then there was a loud bang and she stopped. She didn't try to defend herself after that, to my knowledge at least." Ginny said quietly.

"Do you think that he was abusive?" Draco asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I don't know, he was verbally abusive for sure but I don't know if he was abusive in any other ways." Ginny said not daring to look up at their faces.

"Would _the_ Hermione Granger, war hero, part of the Golden Trio, the girl who punched Draco in third year, really stay with someone who was abusive?" Blaise asked incrediously.

"It was her first relationship and I think she fancied herself in love with him." Ginny told them.

"Remember, we don't know that he was actually abusive. Maybe you just heard him loose his temper?" Draco said clearly hoping that nothing like that happened to his wife.

"The only person who will be able to answer these questions is Hermione. Maybe the two of you should ask her?"

"We didn't really want to have this conversation with her. We didn't really expect to ever be in a position to have this type of conversation." Draco said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, it looks like this is a conversation that you have to have." Ginny said, feeling an intense amount of pity for the two young men sitting in front of her. Personally, she couldn't imagine having a conversation like that. "Just out of curiosity, what brought on this particular line of questioning?"

"Krum is a business partner, he invited Blaise and me to dinner and wanted to know if Hermione wanted to join us. When I brought it up to her she got a bit uncomfortable." Draco explained.

"So, it's a business dinner? Maybe that's why she doesn't want to go? She doesn't want to potentially mess up your business dinner?" Ginny asked trying to make an excuse for her best friend's behavior.

"If Krum wanted it to only be a business dinner he wouldn't have invited them at all. This is more of a social business dinner, if that makes any sense at all." Draco tried to explain.

"It's like he's reminding you that he's there and that you have ties to him. That makes perfect sense to me. Still, you're going to have to talk to Hermione because I don't know much about their relationship. All I know is that sometimes he wasn't kind to her, sometimes he was downright mean, she was different in a bad way around him, and that they dated for almost two years. The rest you're going to have to find out from her. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." Ginny said apologetically.

"No need to apologize, Ginny. You've been a wonderful help to us. I do have one more question if you don't mind." Blaise said, when Ginny nodded her head he continued, "Has Hermione always hated getting gifts?"

At that question Ginny gave a sad chuckle. "No, she used to love getting and giving presents. I remember getting trinkets from her all the time because something she saw reminded her of me, at one point we joked that it was how you knew that you were actually friends with her."

"When did that change? Draco and I got her something and she was none too pleased." Blaise said quietly.

"She comes to the Burrow every year for Christmas. During her fourth year she and Krum both came, they had been dating for a few months and he was interested in meeting her 'second family', as she calls us, that was the first Christmas that she didn't seem to enjoy. She was always so good at giving gifts, of course she was too humble to admit it but she was very good, and that year she gave Harry a broomstick cleaning kit. She looked kind of lost, like she had never given or gotten a gift before. Krum got her some outrageously expensive necklace. She blushed and say that she couldn't possibly accept something like that but he just rolled his eyes at her and put it on her. Mum was flabbergasted by that type of gift being given in her home but Krum just waved her away and said that the necklace was one of the ways that he could express his feelings because his English was so bad. Hermione slept in my room, as per tradition, and when I asked her about the necklace she blushed again and admitted that she and Krum had gotten into a bit of a spat because of it. Apparently, she told him that she didn't deserve such a gift. When I asked about his response to that she told me that what he said wasn't important. I never did understand that conversation. But, long story short, Hermione used to love to give and get gifts and now she doesn't and I haven't figured out why yet." Ginny finished explaining.

"Thank you for all of you insights and for dealing with our questions. It was very kind of you to be willing to answer like you have." Blaise said standing up from his seated position on the top of one of the desks.

"It's not a problem. When are you planning on asking Hermione about all of this?"

"Before the ball, certainly. I will admit that I'm a bit concerned about what she's going to say to us." Draco said uncomfortably as he rose to join Blaise at the door.

"I'm concerned too." Ginny said in a comforting tone of voice. "Just so you know, when your relationship with Hermione comes out I'm sure that Mum is going to invite all three of you for Christmas at the Burrow."

"Really?" Blaise asked surprised by the not yet offered hospitality.

"Yes, do you have plans already?" Ginny asked looking up at them.

"Kind of, we were planning on having Christmas at the Manor with our mothers and Hermione's parents, if they say yes to being there, and Pansy and Theo." Draco explained quickly.

"Parkinson and Nott? Do they know about your marriage?" Ginny asked confused.

"Yes, we told them but they are sworn to secrecy so our secret won't get out until we want it to. Pansy is very excited to have dinner with Hermione so she can get to know her better." Draco said with a chuckle.

"She's almost as bad as our mothers. They've been pestering us to get Hermione to go to tea with them." Blaise said rolling his eyes.

"Have they asked her?" Ginny asked.

"No, they expect us to ask for them." Draco said.

"I'm sure that Hermione would be more than willing to meet your mothers for tea. I should get going, I'll see the two of you later?" Ginny asked smiling at them.

"I'm sure that we'll see each other around. Thanks again for answering our questions and such." Blaise said as he opened the door for Ginny to leave. When she was gone and out of earshot he turned to Draco and said, "I really don't want to ask Hermione about all of this. I have a bad feeling that this is going to blow up in our faces."

"We have to do it anyway, Blaise. Don't you think that it's going to be better to know instead of guessing like we have?"

"What if she confirms our suspicions? What are we going to do then? How damaged do you think she is from it?"

"If she confirms our suspicions we'll comfort and support her and then we'll go and kill Krum." Draco said matter-of-factly.

"We can't just kill him, Draco. Would Hermione forgive murderers? I think not."

"She would forgive us. She does love us, remember?" Draco asked smiling at his husband.

"How could I forget?" Blaise asked with a small laugh. "But, in all seriousness, how messed up do you think she is because of Krum?"

"I don't know, Blaise. It's not like she flinches when we touch her or anything. Maybe nothing happened at all and we're jumping to the worst possible scenarios. We just need to talk to her and see what's going on. Do you have the time to discuss this with her tonight?" Draco asked.

"I'll make time for this." Blaise responded as he grabbed Draco's hand and intertwined their fingers. "We should go to class; I hate Mondays, they are so boring."

"This Monday hasn't been boring so far, love. I have a feeling that it's only going to get more interesting." Draco said as he gave Blaise's hand a squeeze and led him through the door into the corridor. They walked hand-in-hand to their class.

* * *

Hermione was sitting with her friends at the Gryffindor table eating lunch when she saw Draco and Blaise walk in hand-in-hand. She sighed loudly and promptly stood up to leave.

"Where are you going? You've barely eaten anything." Harry said grabbing onto her wrist before she could turn to leave.

"I have some work to do in the library." Hermione lied.

"I'll join you, I have some things to work on too." Harry said as he gathered his things. "Do you have a free period after this?"

"No, I was just going to go for the duration of lunch. You?" She asked as they walked out together.

"I do have one. I was thinking of working on that potions assignment." Harry said as they made their way up one of the many staircases.

"That assignment was quite challenging. It's a good idea for you to get started on it now." Hermione said as she shifted her bag on her shoulder.

Harry broke the silence after a few moments. "So, why did you actually want to leave the Great Hall?"

"I told you, I have work to do." Hermione said.

"You've never been a good liar, Hermione. What's up?" Harry asked kindly.

"There are days that I hate how well you know me." Hermione said purposefully not answering Harry's question.

"Hermione." Harry sighed. "Just tell me what's going on. You always feel better after you do."

Hermione looked around the corridor to make sure it was deserted before she said, "Draco and Blaise."

"That wasn't very descriptive." Harry teased. When he saw the look on Hermione's face he said, "What's going on with them? Is everything okay?"

"No, it's not. It's not okay." Hermione said angrily as she shifted her bag again.

"Well, what's wrong? Can you tell me?" Harry asked as he grabbed Hermione's bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"Thanks for taking my bag, it was uncomfortably heavy." Hermione said looking up at him.

"Not a problem, now tell me what's wrong with Malfoy and Zabini."

"It's just-"Hermione paused to take a deep breath and collect her thoughts, "It's just that they get to be together in public and I don't. They get to kiss and hold hands and just be together and I don't get to do that with them. I feel like a dirty little secret. You don't think that they are ashamed of me, do you?"

"No, why in the world would they be ashamed of you?" Harry asked.

"Well, Viktor-"

"Krum? You haven't talked about him in ages." Harry interrupted.

"I haven't talked _to_ him in ages. It's been more than a year since I broke up with him."

"So much has changed in a year." Harry commented softly. "I'm sorry I interrupted. What were you saying about Viktor?"

"Nothing," Hermione said, "it's not important. I just feel left out sometimes. I feel like I'm not married to them anywhere but our dormitory. I can only be with them there."

"Hermione," Harry said as he put his hands on her shoulders and turned to look at her, "any man would be proud to have you as his wife. You're brilliant and you're kind and you're understanding and you're compassionate and you're beautiful. Any man would be lucky to have you as a friend and even luckier men have you as their wife. You're great and if they don't see that I'll be happy to kick their butts on behalf of the girl who I consider family." Harry finished with a curt nod.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "You speak so well now only if what you said was true."

"I'm sorry, I'm confused. What part of that wasn't true?" Harry asked his brows furrowed together.

"I have no doubt that you would beat someone up for me, it's just everything else that I don't believe." Hermione said looking down at her feet.

"Hermione, you have never been more wrong. If you need any help believing me your husbands are on their way over and I think I know who they are going to side with." Harry said smiling widely.

"You can't tell them about this conversation." Hermione said quickly and quietly before Draco and Blaise could approach them.

"Who are we siding with and what are we agreeing to?" Draco asked as he and Blaise approached their wife and her best friend.

"You're siding with me and you're agreeing that your wife is amazing." Harry said before Hermione could speak.

"Our wife doesn't think that she's amazing?" Draco asked with a laugh. "You must have misheard her because she's too smart to believe any less of herself."

"She's right here you know!" Hermione said frustrated. "And she doesn't like being talked about like she isn't."

"Sorry, love. May we ask what brought all of this on?" Blaise asked.

"Hermione-"

"It's nothing." Hermione interrupted Harry before giving him a look.

"Bullshit. Hermione is upset that the two of you get to act like a couple and she doesn't get to participate." Harry said ignoring the venomous look that Hermione threw in his direction.

"Well, would you listen to that, I have to go to class." Hermione said when the bell rang loudly. "Give me my bag."

"That's actually why we came to find you. We have class together and we figured that you would be so engrossed in a book that you wouldn't hear the bell." Blaise said. "I'll take that bag, thank you."

"I can carry my own bag, Blaise." Hermione said in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Come on, let's go to class. Bye Potter." Draco said as he and Blaise started to walk away.

"I am infuriated with you right now, Harry. We will be having a conversation about this." Hermione said in a deceptively calm tone of voice before she turned to catch up with her husbands who were waiting for her.

"I never thought I would agree with Potter about something." Draco said after a few moments of very tense silence.

"Will you just give me my bag? I am quite capable of carrying it myself." Hermione said trying to force herself to be calm.

"Draco has a gift for you." Blaise said ignoring her request and attempting to ignore the tension between the three of them.

"You know that I don't like gifts!" Hermione said angrily.

"You left this on the bathroom counter this morning." Draco said as he unfurled the necklace that Hermione had worn to Draco's Quidditch game. "I'm surprised that you didn't notice, you haven't gone without it since the game."

"I did notice; I've felt naked without it on. I put it there before my shower last night and forgot to pick it up this morning. Thanks for giving it to me." Hermione said reaching out to grab it from him.

"I thought that you didn't like gifts?" Draco asked raising the necklace just out of Hermione's reach.

"That's not a gift, Draco. That's a you-left-this-let-me-give-it-back-to-you thing. Not a gift. Now hurry up and give me my necklace and my bag because we're almost at the classroom." Hermione said tersely.

"You know, we have a few minutes we could go snog in an empty room." Draco said in a hushed tone of voice with a wink and a wagging of his eyebrows.

"That wasn't a very good joke." Hermione retorted.

"Well, it's either snog or talk about what happened with Potter." Blaise said with a pointed look.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Just give me my stuff."

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the husbands and wife. Lovers quarrel?" Ron asked from where he was leaning against the wall with some Gryffindor's surrounding him.

"Not that it matters but Blaise is carrying my bag because my shoulder hurts and Draco and I were discussing Heads business." Hermione said quickly.

"Yes, I'm sure that the three of you talk _heads_ business every night." Ron said suggestively.

"Have you always been this insufferable or are you acting like this because Harry and I don't talk to you anymore?" Hermione asked in an icy tone.

"Come on, Hermione. He's not worth your time or energy." Blaise said putting his hand on the small of her back and trying to lead her away from the brewing confrontation.

"Hey, Zabini, what are those rings on your left hand?" Ron asked venomously as he indicated to the hand that had been placed on Hermione. "As a matter of fact, why don't you tell all of us why all three of you have the same rings, on your left ring finger, and the same tattoo on your wrist?"

"Go to hell, Wesley." Blaise said.

"Or how about you explain what happened on the pitch a while back. Malfoy got hurt and then somehow you and Hermione were right next to him. I wonder how that happened."

"Stop it, Ron." Hermione said coolly.

"Maybe you want to explain to the group your living arrangements? How the Heads dorm has been arranged to have one bedroom? Ring any bells?" Ron asked. At this Blaise and Draco turned around to stare him down. The students in the corridor broke out into hushed whispers at the soon-to-be confrontation.

"Shut your mouth, Wesel." Draco said his hand hovering above his wand.

"I do what I want, Ferret." Ron said harshly his hand inching towards his own wand. "Tell me Hermione, do you enjoy fucking them? Do you like being the Slytherin's slut?"

The corridor went silent at that. Draco and Blaise had their wands leveled at Ron's head and Ron had his pointed in their general direction. Hermione looked near tears as she put her hand up to her mouth to block a sob from escaping.

"Funny, those rings look just the ones Zabini is wearing." Ron said gesturing at the hand that Hermione had in front of her mouth. "What about you, Malfoy? Want to show us your rings too?"

All of the students in the corridor held their breath as they waited for the first hex to be thrown. Most students were looking at the hand that Ron had gestured to and then at Draco's left hand. Both Draco and Blaise flinched when they felt Hermione's hands on their shoulders.

"Lower your wands." She said gently. "You too, Ron."

"What are you two ashamed to admit that you are married to a Muggleborn Gryffindor?" Ron asked coldly without lowering his wand.

"Just lower your wands." Hermione said weakly.

"Who in their right mind would be ashamed of being married to Hermione Granger?" Blaise asked keeping his wand pointed at Ron's head.

"I never suggested that you two were in your right minds." Ron countered.

"Tell them." Hermione muttered so quietly that Draco and Blaise barely heard her. "Can we?"

"We've been waiting to make sure it's okay with you." Blaise confessed in a low tone of voice.

"Draco?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Do it." Draco mumbled in response, his eyes and wand trained on Ron.

"Fuck it." Hermione said quietly. Then in a louder voice she said, "Ron is right. We are married, I am Hermione Malfoy-Zabini and I am damn proud of it."

"Blaise and I are so proud to have Hermione as our wife and we are equally proud to have each other as husbands." Draco said in a strong tone of voice.

"If any of you has a problem with it" Blaise began giving Ron a pointed look, "don't tell us because we don't care. We love each other and it's no one's business but ours."

"Well, now that everything is settled, can you put away your wands and get into my classroom? I have a lesson to teach." Professor Sinistra said calmly. "Hermione, would you like to sit next to your husbands? The seat between them is empty."

"Yes, professor, thank you for the offer." Hermione said with a smile.

When Ron lowered his wand and stalked into the classroom angrily both Blaise and Draco put their wands away. Before they walked into the room Draco clasped Hermione's necklace on and Blaise said, "That wasn't exactly how I envisioned everyone finding out about us but it got the job done." Both Hermione and Draco made small affirmative noises.

"Are you okay, love?" Draco asked Hermione before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I think so. A bit shaken but okay." Hermione said smiling up at him.

"Well, Mrs. Malfoy-Zabini may we escort you into our classroom?" Blaise asked holding out his hand for Hermione to take.

"Of course you may, Mr. Malfoy-Zabini." Hermione said with a bit of a giggle as she placed her hand into his. She rolled her eyes when he pressed a kiss into the back of her hand. "There's one stipulation." When Blaise raised his eyebrow she continued saying, "The other Mr. Malfoy-Zabini must accompany us. Somehow both of you have wormed your way into my heart."

"And you ours." Draco said as he grabbed onto Hermione's empty hand. The three of them walked hand-in-hand into the classroom and sat together at one of the tables at the front of the room, happy that they could finally be together in public.

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A/N: Review!


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